Following the August announcement of CATL’s plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery hub near Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai, the companies have reportedly doubled down on their partnership with a huge battery order.
Tesla has apparently made arrangements with CATL to purchase as many as 800,000 vehicles’ worth of EV batteries for next year’s sales plan, according to a report from 36kr on Friday (via CNEVPost).
The deal is for 45 GWh of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, largely dedicated to Model 3 and Y units, and will later include plans to add to the order with the companies well into talks, according to a source familiar with the subject.
Tesla Nears LFP Battery Deal with China’s BYD, Claims Report https://t.co/Lyb7SwNYdL
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) October 22, 2021
Tesla sold 627,350 units worldwide in this year’s first three quarters, with 614,165 of these representing Model 3 and Y units. By the end of 2021, Tesla currently expects to sell 900,000 vehicles total.
Elon Musk has said recently the only thing stopping the company from manufacturing more vehicles is finding enough battery cell supply.
The news also comes just over a week after Tesla’s earnings reports revealed plans to shift to LFP batteries globally for Model 3 and Y units, which the company has already begun deploying in major markets.
Earlier this week, Panasonic revealed a Tesla 4680 battery cell prototype, set to be Tesla’s next generation of batteries – which the company has promised will help them build a higher volume of lower cost cars in the years to come.
