France to lift investment in electric car battery cells

PARIS — France is planning to invest 700 million euros ($790 million) over the next five years to boost its production of battery cells for electric cars.

Advisers to French President Emmanuel Macron said he is set to make the announcement Wednesday night at a dinner of international carmakers representatives in Paris gathering for the centenary of the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.

They were speaking anonymously ahead of the president’s speech.

The German government announced last November that it has set aside around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to support battery cell production.

France and Germany want to produce batteries at a large scale in Europe in order to sustain international competition and reduce the dependence of European carmaker on Asian battery suppliers.