One of the world’s leading battery manufacturers CATLintroduced its state-of-the-art battery manufacturing facility in Guian New District, located in southwestern China’s scenic Guizhou province. Spread over an area of 0.95 square kilometers, the facility has successfully started its first phase of operation.
Covering an area of approximately 590,000 square meters, this first phase required a significant investment of approximately RMB 7 billion (equivalent to EUR 895 million). The most important feature that distinguishes this facility from others is its highly automated production line, which has an impressive automation rate of 95%. The facility, which has the capacity to produce one battery cell per second, can assemble a complete battery pack in just 2.5 minutes.
The production capacity of this first phase is an impressive 30 GWh per year. With the completion of the second phase, this capacity will double and reach 60 GWh per year.
CATL achieved a dominant global market share of 36.9% from January to August, according to data from SNE Research, a South Korean market research company. While this rate made CATL the world’s largest battery manufacturer, CATL was the only company with a share exceeding 30% in this period.
CATL’s monthly market share in China
Although CATL experienced a 4.3% decline in net profit in the third quarter, the company still managed to generate a commendable profit of RMB 10.43 billion, representing a significant increase of 10.7% year-on-year.
It is worth noting that CATL’s domestic market share has decreased slightly this year. China Automotive Battery Innovation Association (CABIA) data revealed that CATL’s market share dropped to 39.41% as of September. This marks the first time it has fallen below 40% since April of the previous year.
It will be interesting to see the impact of this state-of-the-art battery manufacturing facility on CATL’s market share and whether it can reverse the recent downward trend.