Nissan and Renault have signed an agreement with Chinese manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) for the supply of batteries for electric vehicles.
The supply contracts are for specific vehicle programmes the two vehicle manufacturers are preparing for the Chinese market, according to local reports.
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All global vehicle manufacturers are scrambling to meet China’s demanding new emissions regulations, which require 10% of all new vehicle sold in the country to be new energy vehicles next year, rising to 12% in 2020 and 20% by 2025.
Nissan has so far manufactured its own batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles while Renault has relied on batteries made by South Korea’s LG Chem.
CATL also supplies batteries to BMW and Volkswagen.
CATL will supply battery packs for the new electric powered Nissan Sylphy, based on the Leaf, which is scheduled to go into production in China later this year. The Sylphy will be Nissan’s first large volume electric car in China with an expected range of over 330km on a single charge.
The batteries will also be fitted to the Renault Kangoo electric van, also scheduled to go into production in China in the next year.
Renault-Nissan also have an electric vehicle joint venture in China with Dongfeng Motor called eGT New Energy Automotive Company which is also scheduled to launch new electric vehicles next year.
CATL primarily uses lithium-iron-Phosphate (LiFePo) and lithium-nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) combinations for its automotive batteries. It has a 17.5 GWh production capacity and plans to launch an IPO later this year to raise US$2bn to build a new factory.
