Audi's models, including the Q6L e-tron that will begin mass production in China next year will be powered by BYD's blade batteries as well as CATL's ternary batteries, according to local media.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) will reportedly supply batteries for some of Audi's new electric vehicle (EV) models, which is expected to strengthen the company's position in the power battery market.

Models including Audi's Q6L e-tron will be powered by BYD's lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, and they will also use ternary batteries from CATL, local media outlet Cailian said today, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Construction and equipment installation at Audi-FAW's PPE (Premium Platform Electric) plant in Changchun, Jilin, in northeast China, will be completed by the end of the year, and the Q6L e-tron, the first model produced at the plant, will roll off the production line next year, the report said, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

In October 2020, Audi and FAW signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly produce premium EVs in China. FAW holds a 40 percent stake in the joint venture, with Volkswagen and Audi holding 60 percent.

The project will introduce Audi's PPE EV platform, developed in collaboration with Porsche, with the first model going into production in 2024, according to a previous statement.

When completed, the project will initially produce three all-electric models with a design capacity of 150,000 units per year, the Cailian report said.

The first phase of the plant will produce the Q6L Sportback e-tron and a third model, the A6L e-tron, in addition to the first model, the Q6L e-tron, Cailian said, citing a person familiar with the matter.

A new-energy auto parts industrial park is across the road from that Audi plant, and construction of the park kicked off in June, when 23 projects, including BYD's battery plant, began, according to Cailian.

BYD's power battery project at the park plans to invest a total of RMB 13.5 billion ($1.85 billion), covering an area of about 800,000 square meters, with a total capacity of 45 GWh, capable of supplying blade batteries for nearly 600,000 vehicles, the report noted.

The battery project is being built in three phases, with the first phase covering 376,000 square meters, with a planned investment of RMB 7.5 billion and a planned annual capacity of 15 GWh.

Currently, the first phase of the main plant of that BYD battery project has been fully completed and is undergoing interior renovation, and equipment is being installed in the Pack plant, according to the report.

BYD is China's second-largest power battery maker after CATL, though it supplies its batteries mainly to the company's own new energy vehicle (NEV) models.

BYD has made a lot of efforts to make its batteries available to other carmakers, though the company's models still contribute about 95 percent of the total for now, the Cailian report noted.

BYD's batteries are largely based on the lower-cost LFP chemistry, while CATL has a strong share of both the LFP and ternary battery markets.

Overall, CATL was No. 1 in China's power battery market in October with a 42.81 percent share, while BYD was No. 2 with a 26.23 percent share, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

In the LFP market, BYD ranked first with a 38.31 percent share in October, and CATL ranked second with a 31.84 percent share.

($1 = RMB 7.2944)

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