The German automotive giant BMW has reported that it has signed a procurement contract worth just over one billion euros with the Chinese lithium battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL).
>>>BMW X5: A completely new model arrives after just five years
This contract will enable the largest Chinese lithium battery manufacturer to build a factory in Europe for the production of battery cells for electric cars, said BMW spokesperson Glenn Schmidt.
Last year, this Chinese company sold lithium batteries with a total capacity of 11.85 gigawatt-hours, the highest in the world, recalls Reuters.
CATL is considering potential locations for building battery production facilities, and the German federal state of Thuringia is trying to attract it to utilize facilities near Erfurt.
>>>Baybars Altuntaş: With my first money, I bought a BMW because you can’t show an apartment to people
CATL did not respond to a journalist’s inquiry regarding the latest order on Friday.
Daimler has already signed a contract with this Chinese company for the procurement of battery cells for electric vehicles back in May, recalls Reuters.
At CATL, they are also counting on the efforts of the Chinese government to reduce pollution caused by fuel combustion in traditional engines and to increase the presence of domestic companies in foreign markets for vehicles that use new energy sources as fuel.
>>>
China also wants to take a leading role in the process of standardizing battery technologies and design drafts, notes Reuters.
The largest Chinese manufacturer of new energy vehicles, BYD Co LTD, announced this week the construction of the largest lithium battery factory in the world and plans to increase its own battery production to 60 gigawatts per year by 2020.
