The production base, when completed, will supply battery products to carmaker customers in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, including BAIC, Xiaomi and Li Auto, CATL said.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL, SHE: 300750) has begun construction of its power battery production base in Beijing, which will supply customers in the city including BAIC Group, Xiaomi (HKG: 1810, OTCMKTS: XIACY) and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI).

A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Beijing on June 18 for the battery base project jointly invested by CATL, along with BAIC, Beijing Energy International Holding and Xiaomi, CATL announced today.

Officials from the Beijing government, CATL chairman and CEO Robin Zeng, and executives from BAIC and Xiaomi attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the project, according to CATL.

Designed to the standards of a lighthouse factory and a zero-carbon factory, the manufacturing site will feature CATL's high beat, high automation rate, and highly flexible production lines, the battery maker said.

Upon completion, the site will supply battery products to automotive customers located in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, including BAIC, Xiaomi and Li Auto, CATL said.

CATL will also promote more supply chain companies to come to the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei region to help the local economy, it said.

CATL did not mention when the production base will be completed or start mass production.

The power battery project belongs to Beijing Shidai Power Battery Co Ltd, a joint venture between CATL, BAIC, Xiaomi EV and Beijing Energy International.

CATL has a 51 percent stake in the joint venture, BAIC has a 39 percent stake, and Xiaomi EV and Beijing Energy International each have a 5 percent stake, according to data provider Tianyancha.

Xiaomi's car-making arm Xiaomi EV launched its first model, the SU7, on March 28, offering three variants -- standard, Pro, and Max.

The Standard variant of the SU7 was launched with a blade battery based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry from BYD's battery arm FinDreams Battery. The Pro variant was powered by Shenxing Battery from CATL based on LFP chemistry, while the Max variant was powered by CATL Qilin Battery.

On May 27, Xiaomi announced that the standard version of the SU7 was adding batteries from CATL in addition to those from FinDreams as part of an effort to boost production capacity.

Li Auto, which initially had CATL as its only battery supplier, announced the introduction of Svolt Energy, Sunwoda as additional battery suppliers on February 8, 2023, when it launched the Li L7.

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