Cell manufacturer
CATL
operating
Two fifths of every electric car battery installed on earth, and no plant of its own in the United States.
At a glance
- Country. China
- Founded. 2011, Ningde
- Format. Large prismatic, plus 46 series cylindrical for BMW
- Status. Highly profitable. First half 2026 net profit RMB 43.28bn, up 42 percent.
Chemistry
Iron phosphate at volume, nickel manganese cobalt, LMFP, and sodium ion now ramping.
Cell format
Large prismatic, plus 46 series cylindrical for BMW.
A naming trap
Qilin, Shenxing and Freevoy are pack architectures, not chemistries. Qilin ships in both nickel and iron phosphate.
In the United States
None of its own. Its only American footprint is a technology licence to Ford for the Michigan plant.
Recalls and safety
None found naming CATL cells.
Vehicles using their cells
- confirmed
- Porsche Macan Electric and Audi Q6 e-tron
- confirmed
- Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning Standard Range, North America
- confirmed
- Tesla Model 3 and Model Y built in Shanghai, iron phosphate
- confirmed
- Xiaomi SU7 Pro and Max, Zeekr 001 and 009
- confirmed contract
- BMW Neue Klasse 46 series
Confirmed means an automaker or supplier statement, a filing, or a recall document named it. Reported means press or analyst claim only. Several automakers dual source, so one model can carry cells from more than one maker.
Plants
- operating
- Eleven sites in China, plus Arnstadt Germanyoperating
- built
- Debrecen Hungarybuilt, cells not started. Mercedes and BMW are supplied from China meanwhile
- building
- Zaragoza Spain, with Stellantisbuilding
- announced then shelved
- Mexicoannounced then shelved
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