[wheelguy]

Tesla already has a long-standing battery supply agreement with Japan's Panasonic Corp. Tesla, which has a long-standing battery supply agreement with Japan's Panasonic Corp , said during its earnings call last week that its pact with LG Chem and CATL was at a smaller scale.

SHANGHAI: China's top electric vehicle battery maker CATL said on Monday it has signed a battery supply agreement with Tesla .

Tesla will determine the battery purchase volume between July 2020 and June 2022, according to its own needs, CATL said in a stock exchange filing, adding the agreement does not impose restrictions on Tesla's purchase volume.

Tesla, which has a long-standing battery supply agreement with Japan's Panasonic Corp , said during its earnings call last week that its pact with LG Chem and CATL was at a smaller scale.

Tesla is building Model 3 vehicles from its $2 billion Shanghai factory, which started delivering cars last year, and has said it would diversify battery supplies for the plant.

Source: ET Auto

[Shreyans_Jain]

Either CATL has made a breakthrough in the energy density of its cells, or Tesla has hired planning people from Maruti and Honda Car India. That is the only explanation I can see for this deal as CATL cells are nowhere as good as those of Panasonic or LG Chem. We’ve seen the Kona with LG Chem cells be certified for 450km range with a 40kwh battery, while the ZS could only manage a certification of 340km with a bigger 45kwh battery on CATL cells. Tesla is an industry leader in efficient and energy dense cells and it will be disastrous for its brand if the range and longevity people expect from Tesla car batteries does not remain what it is.

[Turbanator]

From the same Article,

Quote
its pact with LG Chem and CATL was at a smaller scale.

Tesla is building Model 3 vehicles from its $2 billion Shanghai factory, which started delivering cars last year, and has said it would diversify battery supplies for the plant
Unquote

So this must be for domestic models and based on their improvements, can be exported to certain other developing markets.
It’s a fact, no one can keep Chineese manufacturers away unless you are operating in a niche segment.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Either CATL has made a breakthrough in the energy density of its cells, or Tesla has hired planning people from Maruti and Honda Car India. That is the only explanation I can see for this deal as CATL cells are nowhere as good as those of Panasonic or LG Chem. We’ve seen the Kona with LG Chem cells be certified for 450km range with a 40kwh battery, while the ZS could only manage a certification of 340km with a bigger 45kwh battery on CATL cells. Tesla is an industry leader in efficient and energy dense cells and it will be disastrous for its brand if the range and longevity people expect from Tesla car batteries does not remain what it is.

Either one wishes it or not, one cannot do business in China without any sort of JV or supply agreements with the local suppliers.

Tesla might have done it to just meet/address the obligations.

[efuture]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Either CATL has made a breakthrough in the energy density of its cells, or Tesla has hired planning people from Maruti and Honda Car India. That is the only explanation I can see for this deal as CATL cells are nowhere as good as those of Panasonic or LG Chem. We’ve seen the Kona with LG Chem cells be certified for 450km range with a 40kwh battery, while the ZS could only manage a certification of 340km with a bigger 45kwh battery on CATL cells. Tesla is an industry leader in efficient and energy dense cells and it will be disastrous for its brand if the range and longevity people expect from Tesla car batteries does not remain what it is.

1. CATL is one of the largest cell manufacturer in the world. Their technology and manufacturing process are on par with Korean and Japanese cell manufacturers and their energy density values are exceptional

2. On range comparison, battery pack will not have any impact on range. It is all about power-train, rolling resistance, drag, HVAC, etc. For WLTP drive cycle, Kona has a claimed range of 289km and ZS EV - 262km. Maybe MG has an inefficient power-train

3. There is no magic in tesla battery pack, it is oversized compared to other models and the pack is not under stress until power-train draws more than 100kW power from battery. Other regular electric car of same size and weight will have less than half of what tesla has and will be under twice as stress for the same speed. But not all manufacturer has the luxury to put 100kWh or 85 kWh battery pack in their vehicle. That is how they are making those Panasonic 18650's last longer. Using CATL will not affect its performance or longevity at all.

[wheelguy]

Tesla to use CATL's lithium-iron-phosphate(LFP) batteries in cars made at its Shanghai plant in China. Use of LFP batteries instead of Cobalt based batteries results in significant battery cost reductions to Tesla.

Beijing: Tesla is in advanced stages of talks to use batteries from CATL that contain no cobalt - one of the most expensive metals in electric vehicle (EV) batteries - in cars made at its China plant, people familiar with the matter said.

Adoption would mark the first time for the U.S. automaker to include so-called lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in its lineup, as it seeks to lower production costs amid faltering overall EV sales in China.

Tesla has been talking to the Chinese manufacturer for more than a year to supply LFP batteries that will be cheaper than its existing batteries by a "double-digit percent," said a person directly involved in the matter, who was not authorised to speak with media and so declined to be identified.

The use of LFP batteries will also help Chief Executive Elon Musk meet a 2018 promise that Tesla would cut the use of cobalt - which costs some $33,500 a tonne - to "almost nothing".

Source