The PA75 project's battery is the first battery swap-enabled pack for FAW's HME battery platform for its Hongqi brand, FAW-FinDreams said.

(Image credit: FAW-FinDreams)

The power battery joint venture between BYD's battery manufacturing unit FinDreams and China's FAW has entered mass production, after going into operation two months ago.

FAW-FinDreams held a ceremony on April 3 for the launch of mass production of the PA75 powertrain battery project, the joint venture said yesterday.

The PA75 project's battery is the first battery swap-enabled pack for FAW's Hongqi brand's HME battery platform, and its mass production is a milestone for Hongqi, according to a statement from FAW-FinDreams.

The statement did not provide additional details about the battery.

FAW-FinDreams, headquartered in Changchun, Jilin, Northeast China, was founded on January 15, 2022, and is 51 percent owned by FinDreams and 49 percent by FAW.

On February 26, 2022, the construction of this joint venture battery project started with a total land area of 370,000 square meters and a building area of 340,000 square meters.

On July 21, 2023, FAW-FinDreams saw the first battery pack roll off the production line. On February 2 of this year, FAW-FinDreams said its battery pack went into production and will provide battery packs for models under the Hongqi brand.

FAW-FinDreams has a total planned capacity of 45 GWh, with an initial capacity of 15 GWh, utilizing BYD's signature blade battery technology, according to its previous statement.

The project's total investment is estimated at RMB 18 billion ($2.5 billion), and it will be able to provide blade batteries for nearly 600,000 vehicles when fully operational, according to the FAW-FinDreams website.

BYD installed 12.1 GWh of power batteries in January-February, down 3.1 percent from 12.5 GWh in the same period last year, according to South Korean market researcher SNE Research.

The company ranked third globally in the January-February period with a 13.1 percent share, down from 17.1 percent in the same period last year, and down from 14.4 percent in January 2024.

South Korea's LG Energy Solution was second with a 13.7 percent share in January-February with 12.7 GWh of installed power batteries.

That's the first time since December 2022 that LG Energy Solution has overtaken BYD in the rankings published each month by SNE Research, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

($1 = RMB 7.2337)

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