Battery Maker A123 Enters Bankruptcy

Further bad news for the electric vehicle market comes with word that A123, the company that owns the largest battery manufacturing plant in North America, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week.

The two A123 manufacturing plants, which have been making batteries for electric vehicles including those built by General Motors and Fisker, will be taken over by Johnson Controls, which is acquiring A123's automotive assets.

In addition to its vehicle batteries, A123 also produces cells and batteries for portable equipment, telecommunications and electric grid applications, and stationary power backup systems.

An earlier deal to sell most of the ownership of A123 to a Chinese manufacturer, the Wanxiang Group, apparently fell through, and the bankruptcy filing coincided, at least in part, with A123 failing to make a scheduled loan repayment to Wanxiang.

via: Autoguide.com

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written by Green Business Watch, October 18, 2012

Definitely a roller-coaster of a time for EVs these days. We've been watching good and bad stories. Tesler planning long distance, fast charging stations, Toyota withdrawing the iQ, gas prices giving a boost EV and Hybrid sales in California, not to mention many exciting potential breakthroughs in the tech. Some struggling for finance as this story shows only too well.

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written by Modern Lighting Concepts Staff, October 19, 2012

So what does this mean to the electric car industry as a whole? Who is the next in line to be the leading car battery manufacturer and do they have the bandwidth to meet the demand?

A123 is away but their tec will stay.
written by Best Man, October 20, 2012

A123 was a young company that was started by the people who understood technology very well and got supported by investors.

I think they failed, becasue they were outpaced by the competition, but mainly becasue the investors wanted to cash in too fast and push for more profit, instead of longevity.

The good thing is that the people who started the company and the technology that they invented will survive anyway.

Also, HP was their customer and has also troubles now. Interesting how the bad things happen to a group of business friends, instead of just to one.

These things are best left to China
written by pete, October 24, 2012

Why should the US be designing and producing batteries anyway? This kind of stuff is best left to the Chinese who have a superior cost/productivity and a massive domestic market amenable to using batteries. If there is an export market for the batteries, the Chinese will exploit it. Best of all worlds.

-1

Retired Vet/Ret Businessman
written by Eco-Vet, October 29, 2012

Whenever I see a reasonable successful enterprise so swiftly move into these sorts of bankruptcy, I always feel there are questions related to administrative costs and executive compensation; whether the original owners and executive board decided to "cut their losses" or "take the money and run" as the easiest way to maintain whatever profits and associated gains were garnered in the initial years of operation and approved financing, before it became difficult to realize significant5 financial gains in light of increased operating costs and loan payments coming due; it SEEMS more than just coincidental, and in this era of supreme self-interest, I find it at the very least somewhat questionable as to what actually motivated this extreme action... more info is definitely needed to make an accurate assessment of ethics related to this story.

narrow minded neo-cons
written by Dude, November 16, 2012

Kudos to Eco-Vet for recognizing one of the many ways bankruptcy is exploited and used as a tool, not in my opinion as intended by those that crafted the laws. As to Petes comments about allowing China with it's alleged superiorty and bright future, I figure he's about 15 years old and/or a fan of Ayn Rand, totally ignorant of the structural changes to our country and economy as the manufactoring sector of our country is being dismantled.

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