A123 Systems

  • A123 Systems manufacturing facility, Livonia, Michigan

    Ten years ago, lithium-ion cell maker A123 Systems was a hot startup and a much-publicized company. This author, in fact, profiled the company for IEEE Spectrum in the technology magazine's September 2007 issue. The six years that followed proved enormously painful for the Massachusetts company, however. DON'T MISS: A123 Systems To Recall Electric-Car Battery Packs For Fisker, Others (Mar 2012) A high point was the announcement that A123 was one of two finalists in the "bakeoff" competition held by General Motors to select a battery supplier for its upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Volt. While A123...

  • A123 Systems manufacturing facility, Livonia, Michigan
    A123 Says Start-Stop Batteries A Better Business Than Electric Cars

    Ten years ago, startup lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems was the darling of business media, poised to enter the big leagues of electric cars after successfully selling its cells to power-tool makers. Then came the Fisker Karma, U.S. government grants, a factory in Michigan, the economic...

  • A123 Systems lithium-ion battery cells
    Electric Cars "Not Viable Markets" For Reborn A123 In U.S., Europe In Next 10 Years, CEO Says

    Revived battery maker A123 Systems says it has no interest in returning to the U.S. electric-car market.

  • 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV  -  First Drive, Portland, July 2013
    2015 Chevrolet Spark EV Switches Battery Cells; 82-Mile Range Remains

    The Chevrolet Spark EV has been on the market for only a year, but already it's being updated. And in this case, the update is major: The 2015 Chevy Spark EV will have an entirely new battery pack. General Motors announced yesterday that it will bring assembly of the electric Spark's battery...

  • Ray Lane takes delivery of the first Fisker Karma
    Owners Of 'New Fisker' Offer Selective Electric-Car History

    Ten days ago, a website appeared from Wanxiang America, the new owners of Fisker Automotive, under the title of "The New Fisker." The site included a comprehensive timeline of the formerly bankrupt company's past, warts and all: from the lawsuit by Tesla Motors against Fisker through the May 2011...

  • VL Destino Convertible live photos, 2014 Detroit Auto Show
    New Fiskers Will Have V-8s OR Batteries, Wanxiang Says

    If lithium-ion batteries are "the heart of Fisker," according to new owner Wanxiang, then what does it say is "the soul of Fisker"? That would be the VL Destino, a version of the Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury sedan with no batteries, electric motors, or plugs at all. MORE: Who's Still...

  • 2009 Fisker Karma prototype

    If all goes according to schedule, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Kevin Gross will rule today on whether the assets from bankrupt Fisker Automotive will be sold to Wanxiang, China's largest auto-parts maker. That company submitted the winning bid of $149 million for the remains of Fisker in an auction that ended Friday evening, after 19 rounds of bidding over more than two days. If Judge Gross rules today that the sale is final, the question becomes: What does Wanxiang intend to do next? MORE: Who's Still Buying Brand-New Fisker Karmas, And Why? Wanxiang also owns A123 Systems, the lithium-ion cell...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma during road test, Los Angeles, Feb 2012
    Value Of Bankrupt Fisker Soars From $25 Million To $55 Million With New Bid

    Hybrid Technology Holdings raised its bid for Fisker Automotive, and announced plans to build cars in Delaware.

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    What's Next For Chinese-Owned Battery Maker A123?

    When battery maker A123 Systems went bankrupt, it seemed to be just one in a long line of failed energy startups--albeit one with some high-profile customers. Stalled battery production after A123's bankruptcy is considered one of the main catalyst's for Fisker's litany of struggles, while...

  • 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV  -  First Drive, Portland, July 2013
    2014 Chevrolet Spark EV: First Drive Report

    Aspire, Sprint, Swift, and Esteem: They’re among the most ironically inappropriate car names. But in its new EV guise, the Chevy Spark has the perfect name, on many levels. This car certainly has more than a spark of personality; it's all-electric (forget about those spark plugs); and...

  • 2014 Cadillac ELR revealed at 2013 Detroit Auto Show
    U.S.-Built Electric Cars To Get U.S.-Made Battery Cells Too

    While the number of plug-in electric cars built in the U.S. is steadily increasing, the lithium-ion cells in their batteries have mostly come from overseas. But this turns out to be the year that cell production largely moves onshore as well. The 2013 Nissan Leaf, now coming off the assembly line...

  • 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV
    2014 Chevrolet Spark EV On Time, Unaffected By A123 Failure

    As Fisker Automotive seemingly enters very public death throes, and its battery supplier A123 Systems works to get back to business after a bankruptcy sale, another electric car might have been caught in the crossfire. The 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV is to launch this summer, after its announcement in...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma in Costco parking lot, Santa Monica, California [photo: Chris Williams]

    Last week, the Chinese company Wanxiang got U.S. government approval to buy bankrupt lithium-ion cell maker A123 Systems. With that underway, will China's largest auto-parts company now turn its sights toward one of A123's biggest customers, Fisker Automotive? That seemed to be the implication from a Reuters article last week. Wanxiang America Corp. President Pin Ni said it would be "in our interest" if his company could "help Fisker, any way we could," in a phone interview last Wednesday. That was as far as he went however, declining to comment on whether Wanxiang intended to make an offer...

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    Chinese Group Approved To Buy Ailing A123 Systems Battery Firm

    The decision has been hanging in the balance for some time now, but Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group has finally won approval to buy bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems. Wanxiang Group fought off bids from American company Johnson Controls to buy A123, which supplies electric car batteries...

  • Henrik Fisker
    Down To The Wire: Fisker Wants Partner By Next Month

    The clock continues to tick for Fisker Automotive, which hasn't built any cars for roughly six months now. The company's new CEO, Tony Posawatz, has said Fisker is seeking a partner--some might say savior--that it can work with to help launch the Fisker Atlantic mid-size sedan it unveiled at last...

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    Bankrupt Battery Maker A123 Systems Bought By Wanxiang

    A123 Systems, the bankrupt battery maker which supplies Fisker Automotive and others, has finally found a buyer. Chinese auto parts maker Wanxiang Group Corp. fought off a joint bid from U.S. parts company Johnson Controls Inc. and Japan's NEC Corp, with a bid of $256.6 million. Reuters reports...

  • 2012 Fisker Karma EcoSport
    Fisker Karma Assembly Stalled Til Bankrupt Battery Maker A123 Is Sold

    Prodution lines at Fisker Automotive have lain silent for a month, the company revealed yesterday at the LA Auto Show. Fisker CEO Tony Pasowatz said that the hold-up is due to bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems, which is currently in the process of being sold. A123 exclusively provides the battery...

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    A123 Bankruptcy Auction Set For December 6th By Court

    Ailing battery firm A123 Systems, which supplies batteries to Fisker, BMW and GM among others, could soon have a new owner after Delaware courts have imposed a deadline for bids. Two companies vying for A123 and its assets are auto-parts maker Johnson Controls, and Chinese auto-parts maker Wanxiang...

  • Henrik Fisker

    Fisker Automotive has had more than its share of trials and tribulations of late. Now, a new threat has emerged that holds the potential to harm the company severely, by cutting off its supply of lithium-ion battery packs. A123 Systems, its bankrupt battery supplier, wants to end the contract under which it supplies the Fisker's battery. As reported a few days ago in the Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review, Fisker objected in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to A123's bid to scrap the supply contract. "In so doing, [A123] will saddle [its] estates and creditors with a claim of as much as, if not more...

  • A123 Systems Employees Perform Quality Check on a Lithium-Ion Battery Pack  [source: A123 Systems]
    Future Unclear For Bankrupt A123 Battery Firm As Rescuers Maneuver

    Bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems could finally be on the verge of successfully securing a loan from a Chinese auto parts maker. The company will discuss with bankruptcy courts to secure approval for a loan from Wanxiang Group Corp. A123 became bankrupt after a $465 million rescue deal from the...

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    A123 Electric Car Battery Plants Saved From Bankruptcy By Auto-Parts Maker

    Despite filing for bankruptcy protection yesterday, lithium-ion battery firm A123 Systems has said the factories where it makes electric car battery cells will be saved, thanks to a $125 million deal with automotive parts maker Johnson Controls. Already a huge Tier One global automotive parts...

  • A123 lithium-ion cells
    Battery Startup A123 Rescue Plan: Chinese Firm To Own 80%

    It's been a very, very tough 18 months for lithium-ion cell maker A123 Systems. In late May, the company said there was "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain in business. Now, A123 has announced a tentative deal to recapitalize the company that would--if approved--give an 80-percent...

  • A123 lithium-ion cells
    Battery Maker A123 Systems Says It’s Not The Next ‘Solyndra’

    Despite unveiling what it says will be a revolutionary new vehicle battery last week, Massachusetts-based firm A123 Systems is fighting skepticism that it will become the “next Solyndra,” the California solar company that went bankrupt in August 2011 after receiving a $550 million loan...

  • A123 Systems Prismatic Cell
    A123: New Li-Ion Cell Performs Fine In High, Low Temperatures

    It's been a rough year for lithium-ion battery maker A123 Systems, but the Massachusetts company is forging ahead. This morning, it introduced a new battery technology it calls Nanophosphate EXT, which A123 says can operate at extreme temperatures without requiring the degree of heating or cooling...

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