Volkswagen, which was the largest shareholder in Northvolt, lost 13 billion kroner when the Swedish battery manufacturer went bankrupt on Wednesday morning.
Volkswagen has suffered a financial loss of approximately 13 billion Swedish kronor as a result of Northvolt's bankruptcy.
And all this without having received batteries for passenger cars out of the money. As was the case with the agreement with Northvolt.
Northvolt's bankruptcy is among the largest ever in Sweden. Wednesday's closure means that 5,000 employees stand to lose their jobs.
In addition, Swedish taxpayers and pension savers can wave goodbye to an additional 13 million kroner.
However, Volkswagen, one of Northvolt's largest investors with a 22 percent ownership stake, is the company hit hardest by the bankruptcy.
Volkswagen has lost the most money – taxpayers also lose billions
According to the brand's own information, it began by investing 10 billion kroner in the Swedish battery adventure. An investment that was later doubled in the form of loans.
Volkswagen's original plan was for the brand's electric cars to be equipped with batteries produced in Europe using environmentally friendly Swedish electricity. The Germans ended up not getting even one battery.
The only thing Northvolt supplied was a small number of truck batteries for Scania, which Volkswagen also owns. However, several of the battery deliveries had to be stopped because the quality of the batteries was not good enough.
Volkswagen itself is facing significant financial challenges. It has recently emerged that 1,600 employees in the software department Cariad are to be laid off. In addition, the brand has mentioned closing as many as 3 factories in Germany. Something that has never happened before.
In addition, VW's general workforce will be shaved down by 35,000 people by 2030. But what consequences Northvolt's bankruptcy will have – other than the fact that the many billions have been lost – is not yet known precisely.
The period leading up to Northvolt's bankruptcy has been shrouded in mystery. As recently as September last year, a Swedish media outlet reported that Northvolt was being sabotaged directly from China. Read more about it here .
