Toyota to Team Up with China's CATL to Develop Batteries for Electric Vehicles

resource from: Reuters   

Battery production at Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd has expanded with the help of Chinese government incentives for electric vehicles (Photo: CATL)

Toyota Motor Corp has agreed to partner with China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) to supply and develop batteries for new energy vehicles, which in fully-electric and plug-in hybrid models.

According to Reuters, the Japanese automaker said on Wednesday that the firms have started talks covering a range of areas including new technology development, as well as the recycling and reusing of old EV batteries for other applications.

"To further promote the widespread use of electrified vehicles, CATL and Toyota agree that a stable supply of batteries is critical and that battery technology must be further developed and advanced," Toyota said in a statement.

Japan's largest automaker has said it aims to get half of its global sales from electrified vehicles by 2025, five years ahead of schedule, and last month said it would partner with CATL and Chinese automaker battery manufacturer BYD Co Ltd, for battery procurement.

The move by Toyota highlights the need for automaker to secure a stable supply of EV batteries as automakers look to increase the production of electric vehicles. It also hints that Toyota might not be able to meet demand for batteries on its own.

CATL is emerging as a leading battery supplier to the automotive industry and already has relationships with other automakers including Honda Motor as well as a multi-billion dollar battery-supply deal with Volvo. CATL is also working with German automaker BMW to supply its EV batteries.

CATL announced it will supply 56 gigawatt hours worth of batteries to Honda through 2027. The company will also set up a facility in Japan's Tochigi Prefecture, where Honda has a research and design hub.

In February, CATL announced it was building a 240 million euro ($270 million) lithium-ion battery factory near Erfurt, eastern Germany, slated to begin production in 2021 with an initial capacity of 14 gigawatt hours per year. Once fully completed, the factory will be three times larger than Tesla's Nevada Gigafactory, currently the largest EV battery factory in the world.

The Erfurt plant is backed by an initial 4 billion euro battery order from BMW, with 1.5 billion euros' worth to be produced in Erfurt.

Toyota plans to introduce six new electric models by 2020, beginning with a new model in China.

resource from: Reuters

FutureCar Staff