CATL, the world's largest EV battery maker, started building another production site in China on June 18.
The company will construct a joint plant with the Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC), Beijing Energy Holding, and Xiaomi in Beijing. The plant will reportedly begin production in 2026.
According to CATL's announcement, the new factory will supply BAIC, Xiaomi, Li Auto, and other customers located in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. The project is expected to attract more companies in the upstream and downstream supply chain to the region.
CATL also said it would work with the Beijing City government to electrify local transportation and improve charging and battery-swapping infrastructure.
The battery maker did not disclose when it will commence production at the Beijing site. China-based Xinhua News Agency reported that the manufacturing base will be a two-phase project and is slated to begin production in 2026.
The factory is held by the Beijing Shidai Power Battery. According to enterprise information provider Tianyancha, CATL owns 51% of the company. BAIC holds a 39% stake, while Xiaomi EV and Beijing Energy Holding possess a 5% stake, respectively.
The Beijing battery plant will be critical to Xiaomi, which launched its first EV, SU7, at the end of March. According to China-based Gasgoo, building joint plants with customers has become CATL's typical strategy to deepen ties with automakers. The battery company has partnered with the FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor, Changan Automobile, SAIC, GAC, and Geely in China.
According to South Korea-based SNE Research, CATL reached 81.4GWh of EV battery usage in the first four months of 2024. The installation remained the world's highest and represented a 30% growth from 2023. BYD was ranked second with 33.2GWh, while LG Energy Solution came third with 28GWh.
