He said CATL began mass-producing batteries for overseas markets in 2021 and is looking to establish itself as a major supplier of batteries to automakers abroad “in the next round of supplier sourcing” which he said will begin in 2026.
Ningde company, Fujian, is increasing production and mining to meet the growing demand for EV. Consulting firm Wood Mackenzie said CATL is on track to more than triple its honeycomb production capacity by 2025.
BMW The statement said it was “intensively exploring the possibility of setting up a battery factory” in North America and purchasing materials for batteries in the region. “We are negotiating with several partners on this issue,” the company said.
Ford, which declined to comment, announced plans last September to build two battery plants co-owned with SK, in Glendale, Kentucky. Ford also has two car assembly plants in Louisville, Kentucky.
The CATL’s review of battery investment comes at a time when the U.S. government is taking steps to encourage investment in electricity, and other Asian battery manufacturers are preparing to build plants in the U.S.
This week, the administration of US President Joe Biden said it would allocate more than $ 3 billion to fund infrastructure to fund EV production. Biden wants half of the cars sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2030.
Other Asian companies that have announced plans to build battery plants in the United States include Korea’s LG Energy Solution, SK Innovation and Samsung. It is reported that the Japanese corporation Panasonic also wants to purchase land for the plant, which will serve Tesla.
BMW has an assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC CATL will open its first battery plant outside China later this year in Arnstadt, Germany, to service BMW and other automakers. CATL is investing 1.8 billion euros ($ 1.89 billion) in the plant, which will have an initial annual battery capacity of 8 gigawatt-hours (GWh), the company said.
The BMW plant in Spartanburg, which produces the best-selling X3 and X5 crossovers, as well as other models, is one of the largest German automakers and serves as a major export hub.
BMW CEO Oliver Zipse on Thursday confirmed the German automaker’s plans to reach sales of 2 million all-electric cars by 2025, and by 2030 electric vehicles will account for at least half of global supplies. He said the most important factor for EV production is local suppliers. .
In 2020, CATL acquired the facility in Glasgow, Kentucky, and documents from a meeting in June 2020 with representatives of Kentucky economic development showed that the battery manufacturer is considering building there.
Representatives for economic development in South Carolina and Kentucky declined to comment.
It was not immediately clear what incentives government agencies in these states offer for investment and whether the planned plants will involve automakers in some joint venture.
Last month, the CATL recorded its first quarterly decline in revenue in two years due to rising raw material costs and failures in the fight against COVID-19 in China. On Thursday, he said he expects profitability to improve as prices rise in the second quarter and easing pressure on commodity prices.
https://www.autonews.com/automakers-suppliers/catl-scouting-us-sites-ev-battery-output-serve-ford-bmw-report-says
