Peugeot’s Chief Executive Carlos Tavares has warned against allowing Asian dominance of the electric car battery market continue.

Currently the electric car market is dominated by the Asian technology market, and though some carmakers in Europe are capable of assembling battery packs, there is no production of battery cells.

With China’s CATL and Korean rivals LG Chem and Samsung currently leading the way, the European Commission is hoping to persuade a leading European technology firm to take up the mantle. The European Investment Bank approved a $65 million funding package for Sweden’s Northvolt, with the aim of building a batter plant in the country.

Carlos Taveres said Peugeot: “enthusiastically supports the creation of a European champion in battery development and manufacturing. We have a strategic interest in avoiding a supply concentration in Asia.”

The views are echoed by Peugeot’s domestic rival, Renault, who though they currently source their electric-car batteries from Asia, have hinted that they would champion a European producer.

"LG Chem has no monopoly on battery supply contracts," Renault’s Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn had told a joint hearing of the same parliamentary committee and its financial affairs counterpart. "There is room for a European supplier if it's competitive."

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