BMW and its Chinese joint venture partner Brilliance will expand their battery manufacturing plant in China to support production of the i3 electric vehicle. It isn’t clear whether the batteries will also be exported from 2020. Chinese exports of lithium-ion batteries are already accelerating with a 41% surge in the three months to February 28. The challenge for exporters including Samsung (9% of exports in the past three months) and Byd Automotive (3%) lies in securing raw materials including lithium and cobalt. They, along with BMW and Brilliance, may need to follow Toyota’s lead in ac...