Finding
CATL installed 464.7 GWh of EV batteries in 2025, 39.2% of the world total and more than BYD, LG Energy Solution, CALB and Gotion combined.
SNE Research counted 1,187 GWh of EV battery installations worldwide in 2025. CATL also leads energy-storage cell shipments, and its May 2025 Hong Kong listing, the year's largest, funds plants in Hungary, Spain and Indonesia.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited was founded in Ningde, Fujian in 2011 by Robin Zeng (Zeng Yuqun), who still chairs it, as a spin-off of the battery maker ATL. It sells cells and packs to almost every major automaker except BYD, which makes its own, and its Brunp subsidiary recycles end-of-life packs into cathode precursors. Its shares trade in Shenzhen (300750) and Hong Kong (3750).
The product strategy rests on LFP. CATL's cell-to-pack designs closed most of LFP's energy-density gap with nickel cells, and its Shenxing fast-charging LFP cells made LFP acceptable in mid-priced cars. Qilin covers high-nickel NMC packs, and Naxtra sodium-ion cells, launched in 2025, remove lithium from part of the range.
Politics shapes its expansion. The US Department of Defense added CATL to its list of Chinese military companies in January 2025, and US foreign-entity-of-concern rules exclude CATL-made cells from tax credits. CATL's answer is licensing: Ford's BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall, Michigan builds LFP cells under a CATL license, and Stellantis co-owns an LFP plant with CATL in Spain. In Europe CATL builds its own plants in Germany and Hungary.
Plants
Plants and factories
Major sites only; CATL operates more than a dozen production bases in China.
| Plant | Location | Products | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ningde base (HQ) | Fujian, China | NMC and LFP cells, packs; main R&D center | Operating |
| Sichuan Times | Yibin, Sichuan, China | LFP and NMC cells on hydropower | Operating |
| Jiangsu Times | Liyang, Jiangsu, China | NMC and LFP cells | Operating |
| Guangdong base | Zhaoqing, Guangdong, China | Cells and packs | Operating |
| Qinghai base | Xining, Qinghai, China | LFP cells | Operating |
| Brunp Recycling | Foshan, Guangdong and Ningxiang, Hunan, China | Pack recycling, cathode precursors | Operating |
| Thuringia | Arnstadt (Erfurt), Germany | NMC and LFP cells for BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen | Operating since 2022 |
| Debrecen | Hungary | Cells for BMW Neue Klasse and Mercedes-Benz | Starting production |
| Contemporary Star Energy | Figueruelas (Zaragoza), Spain | LFP cells; joint venture with Stellantis | Under construction |
| Indonesia battery project | West Java, Indonesia | Nickel-to-cell chain with Indonesia Battery Corporation | Under construction |
| BlueOval Battery Park Michigan | Marshall, Michigan, US | LFP cells; Ford-owned, CATL-licensed | Starting 2026 |
Battery
Battery cells and lines
CATL covers every mainstream chemistry and its own upstream in lithium and nickel. Deployment by sector is on the CATL Battery Platforms index; chemistry background on EV Battery Chemistries.
| Chemistry | Format | Main uses | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LFP | Prismatic, cell-to-pack | Mass-market EVs, ESS, buses | Core volume line; Shenxing fast-charge family |
| NMC (high nickel) | Prismatic, cell-to-pack | Premium and long-range EVs | Qilin pack family |
| Sodium-ion | Prismatic | Small EVs, truck starter batteries, ESS | Naxtra brand, launched 2025 |
| Large cylindrical (46-series) | Cylindrical | BMW Neue Klasse | Supplied alongside EVE Energy |
| Condensed (semi-solid) | Pouch | Electric aviation | Announced 2023; development |
| Lithium supply | Upstream | Lepidolite in Yichun, Jiangxi | Jianxiawo mine halted in August 2025 over its permit; see Lithium Refining |
| Nickel supply | Upstream | Indonesian nickel | Through the Indonesia project; see Nickel Refining |
Products
Products
Named product lines; cell-level specifications vary by customer.
| Product | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Qilin | CTP 3.0 pack (NMC or LFP) | Cell-to-pack design with integrated cooling plates; long-range EVs |
| Shenxing | LFP fast-charge cells | 4C and faster charging; the second generation (2025) peaks at 12C |
| Naxtra | Sodium-ion cells | 175 Wh/kg passenger cells and 24-volt truck batteries |
| TENER | BESS container | 6.25 MWh in a 20-foot container, with no capacity fade claimed for the first five years |
| TENER Stack | BESS system | 9 MWh stackable system for utility projects |
| Choco-SEB | Swappable battery block | Standard blocks for the Choco-swap passenger car network |
| Qiji | Heavy-truck swap packs | Battery swapping for electric heavy trucks |
| Bedrock | Skateboard chassis | Rolling chassis with pack integrated into the structure |
OEM customers
OEM customers and programs
Representative programs only.
| Customer | Programs | Supply |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla | Model 3 and Model Y from Shanghai and Berlin; Megapack | LFP cells |
| BMW | Neue Klasse (iX3 and successors) | 46-series cylindrical cells from Hungary and China |
| Mercedes-Benz | European and Chinese EVs | NMC and LFP cells |
| Volkswagen Group | MEB models in China and Europe | NMC and LFP cells |
| Ford | Mustang Mach-E LFP; Marshall plant license | Cells and technology license |
| Stellantis | B- and C-segment EVs in Europe | LFP from the Spanish joint venture |
| Hyundai Motor Group | China-built and select models | LFP and NMC cells |
| Li Auto, NIO, Xiaomi, Zeekr | Chinese premium EVs | Qilin and Shenxing packs |
| AITO (Huawei HIMA) | Huawei-partnered EVs | NMC and LFP packs |
| Customer list will be fed from the battery dataset | ||
Beyond vehicles
Robots, autonomy and energy
| Program | Area | Status |
|---|---|---|
| TENER BESS | Grid-scale storage | Shipping to utility projects in China, the Middle East, Europe and the US |
| ESS cell supply | BESS supply chain | Largest supplier of LFP storage cells to integrators including Tesla and Fluence |
| Choco-swap | Passenger car battery swapping | Network built with Sinopec; partnership with NIO |
| Qiji | Heavy-truck battery swapping | Swap stations on Chinese freight corridors |
Partners
Suppliers and customers
| Partner | Role | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| Brunp Recycling | Subsidiary | Recycling and cathode precursor production |
| Stellantis | Joint venture partner | Contemporary Star Energy LFP plant, Spain |
| Indonesia Battery Corporation | Joint venture partner | Nickel mining to cell production in Indonesia |
| NIO | Swap partner | Battery swap cooperation and cell supply |
| Sinopec | Swap partner | Choco-swap stations at fuel stations |
| Hunan Yuneng | Supplier | LFP cathode material |
| BTR New Material | Supplier | Graphite anode material |
| Wuxi Lead Intelligent | Supplier | Cell production equipment |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- CATL
- Sources
- SNE Research via CnEVPost (February 2026); CATL releases (Shenxing, Naxtra, TENER); US Department of Defense 1260H list (January 2025); Ford and Stellantis releases
- Updated
- October 2026