Porsche to set up joint venture with German battery maker

FILE PHOTO: A Porsche Taycan electric vehicle (EV) is seen displayed during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, China April 20, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen's luxury sports car unit Porsche AG is setting up a joint venture with Customcells to produce high-performance batteries that will significantly reduce charging times, the company said on Sunday.

The partnership with Customcells, a company in southern Germany specialising in lithium-ion cells, will aim to produce car batteries with higher energy density than prototypes used in Porsche's current electric cars, the company said in a statement.