Latest news with #NiJun
CNBC
27-06-2025
- Automotive
- CNBC
Chinese battery giant and Tesla supplier CATL is expanding globally: Here's why it matters
The world's largest electric vehicle (EV) is going all-in on international expansion and could shake up the EV market in the process with its battery-swapping tech rollout. China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) is a key player in the global transition to more sustainable transport, with a market share in the EV sector of roughly 38%. CATL's clients include global players like Tesla, Volkswagen and BMW, with the firm boasting technology far superior to that of Western competitors. Despite its outsized impact on the EV industry, the company had mostly flown under the radar until May this year, when it launched the world's largest initial public offering (IPO) of 2025 to date in Hong Kong. The IPO raised 41 billion Hong Kong dollars ($5.2 billion), after CATL stocks surged and an over-allotment option was fully exercised. Here is what CATL has in the works following its IPO. Ahead of its public offering, CATL said 90% of the funds raised by going public would be put toward its expansion into Europe, particularly its under-construction factory in Hungary. The company's 7.6-billion-euro ($8.2 billion) investment into the Debrecen battery plant was first announced in August 2022 and is expected to begin production this year. The battery maker has already established a wholly owned manufacturing base in Germany, which first opened in 2023. It has also announced plans to build a battery plant in Spain through a joint venture with Stellantis. CATL's global investments follow a trend of more Chinese EV companies, including auto giant BYD, shifting to Europe amid aggressive competition and price wars in the domestic market. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China, on Thursday, Ni Jun, CATL's chief manufacturing officer, said the brutal discount war would not end without intervention from Beijing. He added that, if a big player continues to cut prices, it could lead to other competitors being driven out of the market and create a monopoly. While CATL's Jun did not name any companies, CATL's main competitor BYD announced price cuts in late May. Tight margins and overcapacity in China have been a driving force in CATL's Europe push, said Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights, adding that the company is already supplying "virtually every" EV maker in China, limiting domestic growth opportunities. But not everything in Europe has been easy. The bloc placed punitive tariffs on made-in-China EVs last year, following an even more severe crackdown in the U.S. Le said that the Hungary facility is another major step toward the company's localization plans and that it will lead to lower labor costs and a geopolitically friendlier environment when compared to Germany. CATL is also involved in an integrated electric vehicle battery project in Indonesia. According to local media reports, government officials expect production to begin in March 2026, which could give CATL a presence in the growing EV market of Southeast Asia. CATL said in a recent interview with The Financial Times that it also plans to roll out its battery-swapping and recycling technology to Europe, in a move that could have significant ramifications for the regional market. CNBC has contacted CATL for further details. Modern battery-swapping technology, while popular in China, is yet to take off in Europe. Chinese EV maker and battery-swapping pioneer Nio is one exception. The company has introduced 60 battery swap stations across Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Jeep and Dodge maker Stellantis, meanwhile, recently partnered with U.S.-based Ample to integrate battery swapping technology to a fleet of 100 Fiat 500 EVs in Madrid, Spain. The experience of using a battery swap station is thought to be very similar to using an automated car wash. The EV driver parks the car on a platform with an integrated system, which removes the depleted battery from beneath the vehicle and replaces it with a fresh, fully charged one. The whole process takes about five minutes. Advocates of battery charging through a swapping station say the technology solves a number of issues, particularly relating to fast charging and long-term performance — two major sticking points for the widespread adoption of EVs. Analysts say another key benefit to swapping is that it allows car manufacturers to maintain ownership of the battery, which lowers the initial price of the vehicle and creates a regular revenue stream for the OEMs. Some drawbacks, however, include high initial infrastructure costs and a lack of standardization across car manufacturers. Connor Watts, battery raw materials analyst at consultancy Fastmarkets, said CATL, which has a number of partnerships with Chinese OEMs, is well positioned to implement the necessary level of product standardization across its customer base. "And particularly following its recent influx of cash from its Hong-Kong listing, it has the necessary capital to develop infrastructure within the European market," Watts told CNBC by email. "Of companies that could succeed in developing the European battery swapping industry, none are better placed than CATL considering its market position," he added. Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility supply chains at the campaign group Transport & Environment, said major carmakers would have to agree to a standardized cell design for battery-swapping technology to work at scale in Europe. "Battery swapping is a good addition to the charging space, and in some parts of the market it makes sense … but it is not a silver bullet to solve our problems," Poliscanova told CNBC by phone. "We will still need batteries and we will still need materials for them, whether they are swapped or whether they are in the car permanently," she added.
South China Morning Post
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
CATL executive warns of risks from EV price cuts, calls on Beijing to intervene
A senior executive from Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) , the world's largest producer of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), urged authorities on the mainland to intervene in the price war that is roiling the market for new energy cars. Ni Jun, CATL's chief manufacturing officer, on Wednesday said the brutal discount war would not end if Beijing remained on the sidelines. 'One big player cannot always lower prices [to gain market share] while driving out all other small rivals,' he said at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin. 'If it continues to do so without proper [regulatory] oversight, all of its rivals will not survive.' Ni did not name the 'big player', but BYD – the world's largest EV builder – kicked off a fresh round of price cuts in May. The EV giant offered discounts of 10 per cent to more than 30 per cent on 22 of its battery-powered and plug-in hybrid models, which prompted other firms to slash prices on 70 models in May, according to the mainland business publication 21st Century Business Herald. CATL, which for the first four months of 2025 had a 38.6 per cent share of the global EV battery market, raised US$5.22 billion in its Hong Kong share listing last month, the world's largest initial public offering this year. Ni's remarks at the forum were the latest warning from an influential industry player about the prospects for the mainland's EV sector, which despite its troubles was considered to be at the global vanguard for electric cars.
Bloomberg
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
CATL Prioritizing Overseas Expansion Amid EV Price War
CATL, the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, is making overseas expansion its 'number one priority' as intense competition in China's domestic car market threatens the industry's health. Bloomberg's Stephen Engle speaks exclusively with Ni Jun, the company's Chief Manufacturing Officer, on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin. (Source: Bloomberg)
Mint
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
CATL Prioritizing Overseas Expansion as EV Price War Persists
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, is making overseas expansion its 'No. 1 priority' as intense competition in China's domestic car market threatens the industry's health, according to Chief Manufacturing Officer Ni Jun. Everyone in the sector and the government knows irrational competition 'is unhealthy and will destroy the industry,' Ni said in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum in Tianjin. His comments echo those from BYD Co. Executive Vice President Stella Li, who said in an interview earlier this month that the EV price war it helped spark was 'very extreme and tough.' Li also emphasized that it would be 'unsustainable.' BYD, which makes cars as well as batteries, is a competitor to CATL. In response to the latest round of price cuts, Chinese authorities have chided companies for 'rat race competition' and summoned heads of major brands to Beijing. However, it's unlikely price competition will end while there's still a huge overcapacity issue in China's automobile market. CATL for its part is 'trying to do everything to improve production utilization' amid the challenging landscape and has been navigating optimal strategies for global expansion, Ni said. He added there's increasing need for 'high quality batteries' as the world moves toward a sustainable future. In CATL's vision, factories will undergo significant transformations. They'll become 'greener,' with extensive improvements aimed at reducing energy consumption and emissions; 'smarter,' with machines and robots undertaking labor intensive or dangerous tasks; and crucially, 'reconfigurable,' which will allow for quick and flexible adaptation to new products, Ni said. The Chinese battery giant began deploying artificial intelligence itself seven or eight years ago, Ni said, initially for simple, repetitive tasks and manual work. Today, AI applications have expanded significantly and are not only used for screening battery materials but also play a crucial role during manufacturing and in after-sales services, he said. CATL is also exploring diverse business models for regionalized production to support its global ambitions. That includes a wholly owned factory in Germany, as well as an under-construction plant in Hungary where some production lines are dedicated to specific automakers, who will also share part of the cost. But Ni said building the factory in Germany was much more expensive than elsewhere due to factors like land, labor and operational inefficiencies. The company realizes now it can't think like how it does in China, where land is provided at a cheap price to large corporations. The company is working on reducing the space needed and re-engineering structures and equipment in order to fit in more production line. Training staff overseas was more difficult too due to different working styles. Going forward, CATL may export ready-to-assemble modules, so when they get to their destination, locals can just plug it in and go. 'We learned from all the mistakes and we are trying to make sure all the mistakes we made in the previous production site will be corrected,' he said. 'As a result, our Hungary facility will be very competitive.' CATL's Hungary factory is expected to be operational later this year. With assistance from Adrian Wong. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Bloomberg
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
CATL Prioritizing Overseas Expansion as EV Price War Persists
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker, is making overseas expansion its 'No. 1 priority' as intense competition in China's domestic car market threatens the industry's health, according to Chief Manufacturing Officer Ni Jun. Everyone in the sector and the government knows irrational competition 'is unhealthy and will destroy the industry,' Ni said in an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday during the World Economic Forum in Tianjin.
