A123 Systems Inc.

JCI and China's Wanxiang to square off in A123's bankruptcy auction

3:52 pm U.S. ET | Nov. 8, 2012
An American and a Chinese auto parts maker will face each other on December 6 in an auction to buy A123 Systems, a bankrupt maker of batteries for electric cars that was partly funded by the federal government.... Read More »

 

A123 Systems secures $50 million bankruptcy loan from Wanxiang

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 6, 2012
A123 Systems, the bankrupt maker of electric-car batteries, won court approval to borrow $50 million from China's Wanxiang Group.... Read More »

 

A123 Systems asks for OK of $50 million interim loan from China's Wanxiang

12:23 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 30, 2012
A123 Systems, the bankrupt maker of electric-car batteries, asked a judge to approve a $50 million loan from Wanxiang America, replacing Johnson Controls as the lender for its Chapter 11 case.... Read More »

 

Fisker wants U.S. court to delay A123 bankruptcy auction

4:07 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 26, 2012
Luxury hybrid automaker Fisker Automotive has asked a federal bankruptcy judge to delay the auction of electric-car battery maker A123 Systems.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

A123’s troubles are latest short circuit for EVs

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 22, 2012
It has been a bad stretch for true believers in electrified vehicles. One by one, startups that basked in EV hype and hoopla are bumping into grim reality as they enter the marketplace.... Read More »

 

How manufacturing setbacks, nascent EV market doomed A123

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 19, 2012
A123 Systems, the electric-car battery maker that filed for bankruptcy this week, had promising chemistry and marquee customers. What it couldn't overcome, even with government funding, were missteps in manufacturing and a nascent EV market that has failed to catch fire with consumers.... Read More »

 

China's Wanxiang may still pursue A123 after bankruptcy filing

2:33 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 17, 2012
The Chinese auto supplier that previously offered to bail out A123 Systems, the electric-car battery maker that filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, said it’s still interested in taking over the company.... Read More »

 

DUSTIN WALSH

Why the A123 deal with JCI raises more questions than answers

2:37 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 16, 2012
Today's announcement that A123 Systems would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and agree to sell its automotive business to Johnson Controls currently leaves more questions than answers.... Read More »

 

A123 files for bankruptcy, plans to sell automotive battery business to JCI

Oct. 16, 2012 15:58 CET
Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection Tuesday and said supplier Johnson Controls has agreed to acquire its automotive battery business.... Read More »

 

A123 files for bankruptcy, plans to sell automotive battery business to JCI

9:58 am U.S. ET | Oct. 16, 2012
Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today in federal Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and said Johnson Controls has agreed to acquire its automotive battery business.... Read More »

 

A123 seeks bankruptcy as battery maker runs short of cash

8:19 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 15, 2012
A123 Systems, the maker of lithium ion batteries for electric cars that has suffered from a cash crunch, today filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware.... Read More »

 

Chinese say green battery technology leak fears overblown

11:09 am U.S. ET | Aug. 17, 2012
Foreign car makers in China including General Motors and Toyota last year thought they had scored a victory over Beijing's efforts to strong-arm them into sharing cutting-edge electric car technology. But that could prove compromised as leading Chinese auto parts firm Wanxiang Group's $465 million investment in A123 Systems, a struggling American maker of lithium-ion batteries, may help China unlock the secrets to critical and advanced green-car technologies.... Read More »

 

Battery maker A123 to get initial $25 million from Chinese supplier

Aug. 17, 2012 06:01 CET
Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems said it expects to receive the first $25 million investment from Chinese supplier Wanxiang Group Corp. this week as it moves to finalize their relationship.... Read More »

 

Battery maker A123 to get initial $25 million from Chinese supplier

10:32 am U.S. ET | Aug. 16, 2012
Lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems said it expects to receive the first $25 million investment from Chinese supplier Wanxiang Group Corp. this week as it moves to finalize their relationship.... Read More »

 

U.S. senators question Chinese firm's investment in A123

3:32 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 14, 2012
Two senators today questioned whether battery-maker A123 should receive the rest of its government grant in light of a deal with a Chinese firm to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the faltering company.... Read More »

 

DAVE GUILFORD

Who will control electric vehicle technologies?

11:00 am U.S. ET | Aug. 13, 2012
No doubt, the near-term future of electrified vehicles in this country is dicey. But my guess is that -- however bumpy the next few years are -- within a decade or two, electric-drive vehicles will have a noticeable share of the fleet in the United States.... Read More »

 

GREEN SHOOTS

Equity links can increase the risk at EV startups

12:01 am U.S. ET | Aug. 13, 2012
For a while, it looked like we were seeing the first stirrings of electric-vehicle keiretsu. Not everyone loved the idea. One veteran of the EV wars said having a supplier as an investor can bias purchasing decisions. But there was a more fundamental problem Dave Guilford is enterprise editor of Automotive News.... Read More »

 

Troubled U.S. battery makers recharge with overseas investors

12:55 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 10, 2012
The U.S. car battery industry, a once-high flying sector buttressed by generous federal grants but struggling with a green car market that has fallen far short of expectations, is turning to overseas saviors.... Read More »

 

A123 deal with Wanxiang raises security concerns, lawmaker says

9:48 am U.S. ET | Aug. 9, 2012
A Florida lawmaker opposed the potential sale of control in A123 Systems, the maker of automotive rechargeable batteries, to a Chinese company, citing national security concerns.... Read More »

 

A123 says funding from China's Wanxiang will preserve U.S. jobs

5:49 pm U.S. ET | Aug. 9, 2012
A123 Systems' CEO said the company's financial rescue by China's largest auto-parts maker will preserve U.S. jobs, after the agreement drew criticism from a member of Congress. A123, a maker of lithium ion batteries for electric cars, may get financing worth as much as $450 million from Wanxiang Group. The possibility of A123 being bought by a Chinese company may fuel further political debate over government financing of alternative-energy and transportation businesses.... Read More »

 

China's Wanxiang to take control of battery maker A123

8:22 am U.S. ET | Aug. 8, 2012
China's largest automotive parts supplier is poised to take control of battery maker A123 Systems, which received a $249 million green-technology grant from the Obama administration in 2009.... Read More »

 

DUSTIN WALSH

What's the big deal with A123? Maybe a deal is the deal

2:25 pm U.S. ET | July 9, 2012
A123 Systems is spending money while at the same time warning that it's running out of money. What gives? A buyer, perhaps? A123 Systems is spending for a future that doesn't exist? Or does it?... Read More »

 

Hybrid sales, tablet boom strain lithium supplies as prices triple

8:04 pm U.S. ET | June 19, 2012
The exploding popularity of iPads and increasing sales of hybrid cars is driving up prices of lithium used for batteries. Prices for the conductive metal, the lightest in the periodic table, have tripled since 2000 in a market now worth $1 billion a year as uses expand in vehicles, ceramics, electronics and lubricants.... Read More »

 

As its vehicle batteries stumble, A123 diversifies

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 18, 2012
Last month, A123 Systems Inc., which makes batteries for the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid, told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern. But in an interview this month, A123 officials said the company plans to return the work force to peak levels at its suburban Detroit plants and is embarking on a recovery plan calling for more nonautomotive customers and new products.... Read More »

 

DUSTIN WALSH

Why there's still hope for A123 Systems

11:06 am U.S. ET | June 15, 2012
Talk to any advanced-battery expert, and they will tell you: The current generation of lithium-ion technology is not fit to launch the electric vehicle revolution. The batteries are too expensive, they require large and expensive thermal management systems and often fail under extreme temperatures. But the struggling battery maker, with its major plant in suburban Detroit, this week unveiled a new chemistry designed to rectify at least some of the problems with the nascent industry's product.... Read More »