AKASOL continues serial production, prototype and sample construction to avoid future supply chain bottleneck

AKASOL will maintain its serial production as well as prototype and sample construction for the time being, despite the current corona crisis, with stricter hygienic and health safety precautions for employees.

Even if some of the company's serial customers have set up breaks due to the current COVID-19 developments and will not produce any vehicles in the next few weeks, the AKASOL Management Board anticipates a considerable catch-up effect after the crisis due to unchanged forecasts and vehicle orders from its customers.

“Despite the interruptions in production at our customers' plants, the quantities announced for 2020 have not yet been revised so far but have for the most part been confirmed. Against this background, we have decided for the time being to maintain serial production as well as prototype and sample construction and to pre-produce our battery systems and necessary accessories in the coming weeks in order to be able to deliver these products quickly after customer plants have restarted,” explained Sven Schulz, CEO of AKASOL AG.

AKASOL is ensuring that the backlog in the production capacity of the customers expected after the end of the crisis can be fulfilled as planned.

“By maintaining serial production under increased health safety precautions as well as strict hygiene regulations, we can initially continue to guarantee employment at the Company's production sites,” commented Carsten Bovenschen, CFO of AKASOL AG.

Due to the currently guaranteed partial availability in its own supply chain, AKASOL AG will be able to maintain its own production for the coming months. Customer development projects will also be continued.

Shortly before the break in production, customers placed development orders with the company for new and ongoing projects. Sven Schulz explained: “For us it is a clear and positive sign that our customers are sticking to their electrification strategy even in the current extremely challenging environment and are investing in the further development of the business relationship with AKASOL.

“Our development teams are currently able to work from home without major restrictions and in the laboratories of our sites with appropriate hygiene standards. This allows us to ensure for ourselves and our customers that we will use the time during the current corona crisis efficiently to further expand our technological leadership for Li-ion battery systems in commercial vehicles. Our customers will benefit massively from this after the crisis, as they will not be disadvantaged in terms of electromobility compared to the international competition,” added Schulz.

The AKASOL Management Board currently assumes that the customer plant closures will continue until the end of April. However, not all customer plants are currently closed. In particular, a large plant of a major serial customer in Poland is still open, where AKASOL AG continues to supply battery systems.