Volkswagen is thinking against taking its battery unit public, until factories are up and running and the company's unified battery cell is in use, the division's chief Thomas Schmall informed newswire Reuters. 

This mainly rules out the possibility of a public listing before 2026, the newswire noted.

Schmall's comments offer the best indication so far for when Europe's top carmaker may take PowerCo Battery public, as a follow up to bringing in an outside investor or entering strategic partnerships with other cell manufacturers, the newswire noted.  

"In a second step, an IPO remains an option for the future. However, this will only become an issue once factories are up and running and the standardised cell is in use, he told Reuters. 

Volkswagen spun off its battery unit two years ago, pumping in 20 billion euros with partners to manufacture plants reaching 240 gigawatt hours of capacity by 2030. The company hoped this strategic move would offer the firm greater control of its supply chain and help narrow the gap with Tesla, the newswire reported. 

The unit has to date announced battery cell factories in Salzigitter, Ontario  Valencia and Ontario, which will open in 2025, 2026 and 2027 respectively, the newswire reported. 

The company aims to use its unified cell, a single cell design available in three different chemistries, across 80% of its electric cars from 2025, making 2026 the earliest time when Schmall's conditions for a listing would be met, the newswire reported. 

PowerCo has to date refrained from offering a specific timeline for its listing, earlier only indicating that it aimed to have the business investor ready from 2024, Reuters noted. 

Schmall, for the first time, has also eliminated the feasibility of another plant in Europe for now. 

"The sentiment is very poor...it is just not a good time," said Andy Leyland, SC Insights, a battery supply chain consultancy.