Nissan likely to purchase LG batteries, Ghosn tells WSJ

Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance speaks during a question and answer session organised by the Japan Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo July 16, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter·Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) - Nissan may follow alliance partner Renault by purchasing batteries for its future electric cars instead of exclusively building its own, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said in a Wall Street Journal interview published on Friday.

Nissan is likely to use LG Chem batteries, the alliance CEO said, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

"We have opened to competition our battery business in order to make sure we have the best batteries," Ghosn told the paper. "For the moment, we consider that the best battery maker is LG."

Reuters reported last September that Ghosn was preparing to cut battery production by Nissan's AESC joint venture with NEC Corp and instead use LG packs, stoking alliance tensions as he pursues closer integration.

(Reporting by Laurence Frost, Editing by Dominique Vidalon)

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