China's CATL to power Daimler electric trucks, buses

FUZHOU - China's leading lithium battery producer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), announced Wednesday it has entered into a global battery supply agreement with Daimler Trucks & Buses.

Under the agreement, CATL will supply battery modules for a wide range of Daimler Trucks & Buses' global electric truck portfolio from 2021 onward, including Mercedes-Benz eActros, Freightliner eCascadia and Freightliner eM2.

"Providing highly efficient and reliable solutions to electrify commercial vehicles is essential for the overall electromobility market development," said Zhou Jia, president of CATL.

Headquartered in the city of Ningde, East China's Fujian province, CATL has grown into the world's largest maker of lithium-ion batteries with an annual sales volume of 21.31 GWh in 2018.

Beyond its successful partnerships with various global top tier passenger vehicle manufacturers, CATL is also accelerating electrification in the commercial vehicle sector.

Frank Reintjes, head of global powertrain, e-mobility and manufacturing engineering of Daimler Trucks & Buses, said the new partnership with CATL is a key element to leveraging the company's strong technological position and global presence.

Some of the leading international partners that CATL is working with to facilitate worldwide e-mobility include BMW, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo, Honda and Toyota.

China had 340 million motor vehicles by the end of June this year, while the number of new energy vehicles (NEV) had reached 3.44 million, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

China adopted a dual-credit scheme to support the NEV industry, which rewards or penalizes automakers with positive or negative credits on their car models' fuel consumption. Traditional vehicle makers may need to buy credits from NEV manufacturers or improve fuel efficiency and develop their own NEV business to avert punishment.

The latest report from global market research firm Canalys shows China remains ahead of other major markets in NEV penetration.