Report: A123 Systems to supply packs for EV from major North American automaker

A123 Systems Inc., has been chosen to produce battery packs for a pure-electric vehicle by a “major” North American automaker, which is expected to hit the market in 2013, CEO David Vieau said during the firm’s quarterly call Monday.

“We had previously announced that we were in consideration for that ... there was a competitive environment,” Vieau said. “We’ve been selected for it and we’re tooling up to go forward.”

The Watertown, Mass.-based maker of lithium-ion batteries will be producing the battery packs at the company’s factory in Livonia, Mich., and the company began delivering engineering battery packs late last year, Vieau said. The North American automaker was not named.

A123 has previously announced battery deals with a major Chinese automaker and several smaller customers in the U.S., including Fisker Automotive and Navistar, but last August said it had withdrawn from a program to supply batteries for Chrysler electric vehicles.

On Monday, A123 said its annual net loss widened by 78% in 2010 as the company laid a foundation to support rapid growth in coming years.

Source: Boston Business Journal