'Our role is to be a customer' – Swedish truck giant Scania rules out Northvolt acquisition

Since Northvolt filed for bankruptcy in March, a key question has been who might take over the battery plant in Skellefteå.

The bankruptcy administrator, Mikael Kubu, recently said there are two to three serious contenders. However, Scania should not be counted among them, Scania's CEO Christian Levin told Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri. This comes despite the fact that the truck manufacturer recently purchased Northvolt Systems, as first reported by Impact Loop.

"Our role is and remains to be a customer of Northvolt, nothing more," Scania's CEO said.

Challenging negotiation environment

Scania currently has an agreement with the bankruptcy estate that allows production to continue through to May. Over the summer, the company will begin phasing in new battery suppliers into its production lines. According to Dagens Industri, Scania has for some time been receiving more cells from Northvolt than it needed for its production.

According to information from the Swedish radio station Sveriges Radio Ekot, the sale of Northvolt's Skellefteå factory is complicated by the company's significant debts. Documents seen by Ekot reveal that 17 different lenders hold stakes in the plant's assets until the loans are repaid, creating a challenging negotiation environment.