News on August 12, yesterday, Tesla supplier and lithium-ion battery manufacturer CATL (CATL) issued an announcement that its subsidiary, Time Geely, plans to invest in the construction of the power battery Yibin project.
CATL and Zhejiang Jirun Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhejiang Jirun”) jointly established a joint venture company, Times Geely Power Battery Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Times Geely”), to develop power battery production and sales. Among them, CATL holds 51% of the shares and Zhejiang Jirun holds 49%.
Ningde Times stated in the announcement that the new energy vehicle market has a bright future. In order to further meet customer needs, promote business development, and consolidate market position, its holding subsidiary, Times Geely, plans to invest in the construction of power batteries in Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. The project, the project name is “Times Geely Power Battery Yibin Project”, the total investment of the project does not exceed RMB 8 billion, the construction period of the project is no more than 26 months from the start of construction, and the construction scale of the project covers an area of about 500 acres.
Ningde Times stated that Time Geely intends to register and establish a wholly-owned or holding subsidiary in Yibin City as the main body of project implementation.
Ningde Times was established in 2011 and is headquartered in Ningde, Fujian. The company focuses on the research and development, production and sales of new energy vehicle power battery systems and energy storage systems, and is committed to providing solutions for global new energy applications.
In February of this year, Tesla and CATL signed a two-year contract (from July 2020 to June 2022). According to the contract, CATL will supply batteries for the Model 3 produced by Tesla’s Shanghai plant.
In addition, CATL is cooperating with Tesla to produce million-mile batteries. This battery can increase the car’s cruising range to 1 million miles, or 1.6 million kilometers.