Porsche acquires business unit for ultra-high-performance lithium-ion cylindrical cells from VARTA AG

Stuttgart. Porsche AG acquired V4Drive GmbH from the VARTA AG-Group on 1 March 2025. The sports car manufacturer is the new majority shareholder of the company, while VARTA AG will retain a minority stake without any operational influence. Porsche and VARTA AG are combining their expertise in the development and production of high-performance cylindrical cells. V4Drive is being rebranded as V4Smart to reflect the realignment of the company. The name change is intended to emphasize that the potential applications of the high-performance cells extend well beyond the automotive sector. The move is expected to open up new customer groups for ultra-high-performance lithium-ion cylindrical cells. 

Cells from V4Smart have already made their way into series production at Porsche as booster cells in the 911 GTS models, raising the driving performance of the iconic sports car to a new level. Production of these cells currently takes place at the Ellwangen site. The production facility there has already been brought to series-production readiness with significant input from Porsche Werkzeugbau GmbH. It is planned that from April onwards, the cylindrical cells will also be manufactured in a new facility at the Nördlingen site.

"The booster cells enable us to bring motorsport technology to our production cars,” says Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG. “As a key component of the T-Hybrid drive system, they ensure exceptional driving performance from our iconic 911 sports car. As we establish V4Smart – with a great deal of momentum and energy – I am looking forward to working with our new team, whose expertise will further strengthen our capacity for innovation." Management of the joint venture will be led by Lutz Kramer as Chairman of the Management Board (formerly Porsche Werkzeugbau GmbH), Andreas Tschürtz as Managing Director Production (formerly VARTA AG) and Monika Steuss as Managing Director Finance (formerly Porsche AG). By the end of 2025, the company plans to expand the workforce to around 375 across both production sites, taking on a large number of employees from the VARTA AG-Group.

Development of the production line at the Nördlingen site has also already been carried out, led by Porsche Werkzeugbau GmbH and supported by other plant engineering companies. "Through the development of battery production systems, Porsche Werkzeugbau has further expanded its business areas,” says Markus Kreutel, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche Werkzeugbau GmbH and future member of the Advisory Board of V4Smart GmbH & Co. KG. “Thanks to the strategic partnership between V4Smart GmbH and Porsche Werkzeugbau GmbH, we are now able to offer our customers the entire process chain for cylindrical cells – from cell chemistry and cell design to the finished cell or complete production plant." Future production will predominantly use newly developed systems that also draw their energy from renewable sources.

Independently of this announcement, Porsche AG intends to continue with acquiring a stake in VARTA AG, supporting the Baden-Württemberg-based VARTA AG-Group on its restructuring path. This transaction has not yet been completed.