There's a chance that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), one of China's leading makers of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems, might supply the battery packs for the EVs to be produced by Tesla Inc. at its new Gigafactory in Shanghai.
Tesla is in talks with CATL for the latter to supply Li-ion battery packs for the Model 3 EVs it will assemble at the Gigafactory. Sources say there's no guarantee Tesla and CATL will reach an agreement.
Analysts said securing a battery pack supply contract from Tesla will boost CATL's reputation as one of the world's emerging battery-making leaders. CATL is on track to become the biggest manufacturer of Li-on batteries in China. Tesla has refused to comment on its negotiations with CATL, however.
Tesla currently sources all its car battery power plants from Japan's Panasonic Corporation. It's made it known it wants to add more fully qualified battery pack suppliers.
The current Model 3 battery pack is made of four longitudinal modules, each containing individual battery cells. The Standard Range version carries 2,976 cells arranged in groups of 31. The Long Range version carries 4,416 cells arranged in groups of 46.
Tesla began manufacturing the "lighter, better, cheaper" 2,170 cell battery pack in 2018. It's set a goal to slash the cost of assembled battery packs to $100 per kWh by December 2018.
Tesla also plans to move the new cell into volume production at Gigafactory 1 at Reno, Nevada during the first quarter of 2019. An improved battery cell design is needed to further slash battery costs as Tesla attempts to produce the Model 3 Standard Range for the promised base price of $35,000.
Last week, Tesla said it had secured a $521 million loan to build its Shanghai Gigafactory. Sources said Tesla might have access to $700 million in additional loans.
Three of China's "Big Four" state-owned banks are the biggest investors in Tesla's Gigafactory. The total project cost is estimated at $2 billion (RMB13 billion) sourced from an of Chinese lenders led by three of the Big Four banks. These three are the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB) and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC).
In China, CATL clients include Geely Automobile, Yutong Bus, BAIC Motor, Zhongtong Bus, Xiamen King Long, SAIC Motor and Foton Motor.
