CATL, Dongfeng’s battery JV starts production

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Dongfeng Motor and CATL's JV dubbed Dongfeng Amperex (Wuhan) Battery System Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Dongfeng Amperex ) finished construction and started production on July 4, marking a significant progress for the cooperation between Dongfeng Motor and CATL.

Founded on Apr. 20, Dongfeng Amperex, a 50-50 JV backed by both CATL and Dongfeng Motor with a registered capital totaling RMB 100 million, mainly engages in the R&D, manufacturing and marketing of NEV-battery systems.

It is known that Dongfeng Amperex will finish the construction of three production lines by 2019. It is expected that Dongfeng Amperex will reach an annual production capacity of 9.6 GWh, together with 192,000-set vehicle-battery systems and RMB 11.4 billion production value.

Dongfeng Amperex, another new JV after two JVs established by CATL and SAIC Group, is potential to exert great influence on the state quo of China's vehicle-battery market.

For the part of Dongfeng Motor, the automaker can secure core vehicle-battery technologies from the JV, and with the help of the JV, Dongfeng can ease the battery restriction from other battery makers. For CATL's part, the high-level cooperation with Dongfeng Motor can further help improve the battery maker's market shares.

The establishment of the JV between Dongfeng Motor and CATL will not only help Dongfeng Motor to improve its R&D and manufacturing abilities, but also enable the automaker to gain more high-quality and cost-efficient vehicle batteries as the cooperation with CATL grows deeper.