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Volkswagen in talks with Waymo about mobility services partnership: Manager Magazin

FILE PHOTO: A car with the Volkswagen VW logo badge is seen on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen plans a multi-billion euros investment to produce battery cells with South Korea's SK Innovation and is exploring a European partnership in the area of mobility services with Waymo, Manager Magazin said. Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess wants to spend 12 billion euros ($13.70 billion) for a 10 percent stake in Waymo, the robotaxi company owned by Alphabet but Diess lacks the backing from the supervisory board to spend such an amount, Manager Magazin said. VW needs four Gigafactories to make enough batteries for electric cars, the magazine said. Diess wants the VW brand to have a return on sales of 8 percent by 2025, Manager Magazin further said. Volkswagen declined to comment on the report. ($1 = 0.8762 euros) (Reporting by Edward Taylor and Jan Schwartz)