Honda Motor has signed a new partnership agreement with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) to secure the supply of EV batteries for future vehicle models.
CATL, one of the world's largest EV battery manufacturers, has agreed to supply Honda with approximately 1m battery packs over the next eight years which will allow the automaker to meet local requirements in key markets such as China where minimum sales quotas for new energy vehicles were introduced at the beginning of 2019.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
This week the two companies signed an "a cooperation agreement to formally cooperate to develop electric vehicles for the future market", according to local reports citing a Honda spokesman.
The two companies have been working together for some time, including on an affordable all-electric version of the Honda Fit since last year.
The head of CATL's Japanese subsidiary, Naosumi Tada, said he hoped the new agreement would allow the two companies to establish more efficient communication channels, more timely response mechanisms and a closer overall relationship that would foster further cooperation in the future.
He added the agreement signed this week would also guarantee the supply of "about 56GWh of lithium-ion EV batteries by 2027".
Honda is expected to launch a new all-electric car model for global markets at the end of this year.
