A Volkswagen logo is pictured during the Volkswagen Group’s annual general meeting in Berlin, Germany, May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

FRANKFURT, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) could end up owning a minority stake in its battery division, which could eventually be included in an IPO, the automaker’s board member in charge of the deal has told a newspaper.

“If sales of electric vehicles are growing as we expect, it would make sense to bring external investors on board. But we want to stay behind the wheel,” said Thomas Schmall of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

“You don’t necessarily need a majority for that.”

Schmall is overseeing Volkswagen’s plan to build six major battery cell plants across Europe by 2030, a key part of the automaker’s effort to overtake Tesla (TSLA.O) as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles.

The company previously announced that it would do this with external partners and funding. Continue reading

In the long term, the company could imagine supplying its battery cells to competitors, said Schmall.

“We want to set a standard for our industry,” he was quoted as saying.

Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Edited by Kirsten Donovan

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