The German automotive corporation Daimler AG has chosen China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) as the battery vendor for its electrified vehicle lineup. The agreement has already been signed, but no specifics have been disclosed on which models get the new batteries.
It would be reasonable to assume that Daimler AG will first implement the new battery tech in the models sold in the Asian-Pacific Region and then eventually expand it onto the rest of the markets.
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology has ongoing cooperation agreements with such brands as BYD, Geely, Xiamen King Long, Zhongtong Bus, Foton, SAIC, Hyundai, BMW, BAIC, and Yutong. According to a recent announcement, the company is growing rapidly, evidenced by its plans to build an own version of Tesla’s “Gigafactory” with 24 GWh production capacity. Around two billion U.S. dollars has already been invested in the project.
Industry observers tend to believe that Daimler’s cooperation deal with CATL is going to keep that company busy for many years to come. For instance, one of its subsidiaries has been lately planning a complete shift to the use of all-electric engines. The corporation itself sees it as a priority to bring the prices of EVs down to the level of the conventional ICE vehicles – a goal that’s hard to accomplish without a source of cheap batteries.
Photo: motor1.com