The BMW Group has signed a five-year cobalt supply deal with Moroccan mining company Managem Group covering around one-fifth of its needs for its latest electric drive trains, the company said.
The German automotive company will source its remaining cobalt needs for the electric drive trains from Australia, it added.
The ?,?100-million ($113-million) contract is for 2020-25 and follows a memorandum of understanding on the direct purchase of cobalt signed between the parties in January 2019.
The deal comes on the heels of a
supply contract between Glencore and automaker Tesla and marks a further foray into direct purchasing of raw materials needs by the auto sector.
Andreas Wendt, a member of the BMW management board responsible for its purchasing and supplier network, said the company was systematically driving the electrification of its vehicle fleet and seeking to secure its raw material needs for battery cells.