NIO and CATL deepen partnership to advance battery longevity, expand to new markets

EV automaker NIO and world leader in battery manufacturing CATL held a signing ceremony in China this week in which the two companies deepen an existing relationship in order to improve EV battery supply chains, advance new EV brands and their respective technology, all while expanding to new markets. Here’s the latest.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd., better known as CATL, is a global energy technology company and the leading EV battery manufacturer in China. Last February, the company was celebrating its fifth year as the world’s largest battery manufacturer and is looking to repeat the three-peat again when the 2022 results come out. Halfway through last year, CATL was definitely on track for success.

As the leading supplier of EV batteries around the globe, we’ve covered countless partnerships, collaborations, and supply agreements with everyone from VinFast, to BMW, and especially Tesla.

One of CATL’s longtime partners has been fellow Chinese company, NIO. This week, both parties announced an extension of their existing strategic partnership to push battery innovation and EV adoption further.

NIO and CATL sign five-year strategic agreement

The signing ceremony was held in the city of Ningde, in Southeast China’s Fujian Province and was attended by NIO senior vice president Alan Zeng and CATL executive president of passenger vehicles Wei Zhu, who both signed the strategic collaboration agreement.

CATL founder, chairman, and CEO Dr. Robin Zeng and NIO founder, chairman, and CEO William Li were also in attendance. The companies state that the refreshed agreement builds upon their existing relationship with the goal leverage each’s own respective resources in order to implement a battery supply system that is more efficient and capable.

Thus, creating more advanced battery technologies that deliver a more pleasurable EV driver experience in which customers can go farther and charge faster. Per the release:

The comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement further deepens CATL’s strategic partnership with NIO. The two parties will advance technological cooperation in new brands, new projects and new markets, improve supply-demand coordination, propel overseas expansion, and develop the business model centering on long service life batteries.

Neither CATL nor NIO have shared any additional details of their five-year agreement at this time. NIO is in the process of expanding EV sales and deliveries to new markets (and brands) in Europe, while CATL is simultaneously expanding its battery production footprint to new territories outside of China as well to support automakers like NIO, Tesla, and BMW.