One of Tesla’s China-based suppliers will build a new electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Shanghai, further promoting a growing EV base in the world’s largest auto market.
According to people familiar with the matter, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) is planning to build an EV battery plant in Shanghai, which will help the company remain the world’s number one EV battery supplier, as reported by Reuters.
The Ningde-based company has been supplying EV batteries for Tesla’s made-in-China Model 3s, and CATL is hoping to further expand that relationship as the EV market continues to grow in the country.
The new CATL production facility would be capable of making 80 gigawatt-hours of battery cells per year, as reported by a second source. This would be on top of about 69.1GWh in current production capabilities, with 77.5GWh still in progress. The same source also said that the CATL production facility is likely to be built in Lingang, Pudong New Area, south of Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory.
CATL also said it hopes to collaborate more with Tesla in the future, perhaps like Panasonic’s collaborations with Tesla in the U.S. on EV batteries. The move will certainly bind CATL closer to Tesla, and with the company’s client-base also including Volkswagen, GM, GMW, and Daimler, the move will also put pressure on competitors like Panasonic and LG Energy.
