Battery group: Porsche takes over the majority at Varta subsidiary

The sports car manufacturer Porsche has taken over the majority at Varta’s AutoKatte subsidiary V4Drive Battery. The Volkswagen subsidiary now holds 70 percent of the shares, as the car manufacturer in Stuttgart announced. The financially battered battery group Varta remains involved with 30 percent. The takeover was already announced on the 1st March and is part of the rescue plan for the medium -sized company, which is currently being reorganized. Porsche invest 30 million euros.

In the future, the company will be called V4Smart and wants to open up new customer groups for ultra high-performance lithium-ion round cells. The cells are currently coming as booster cells in the 911 GTS models for Porsche for series use.

Porsche supports Varta in renovation

The production of the booster cells is currently taking place at the Ellwangen location. As of April, the round cells are expected to also be manufactured on a new facility at the Nördlingen location, as Porsche continued. By the end of 2025, the joint venture is planning to build around 375 jobs at both production sites and to take over many employees from the Varta Group.

Porsche confirmed the intention of also wanting to get in at Varta to support the company in the renovation. In the course of the restructuring, the plan provides for a reduction in share capital to zero. For the free shareholders, this means the complete loss of their money. Then the capital is increased again. That had triggered violent criticism. The Varta renovation runs as part of the Restructing Act Starug, which is intended to save crisis companies in bankruptcy proceedings.