Akin Li, a vice president at China's No. 1 battery company CATL (Ningde Shidai·宁德时代), said on the 25th (local time) that "we plan to expand cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group." The plan is to go beyond equipping the midsize electric sedan Ioniq V unveiled by Hyundai Motor at Auto China 2026 (Beijing Motor Show) and install CATL batteries in all models.
On this day at the China International Exhibition Shunyi venue in Beijing, Li said in an interview with Korean reporters that "CATL batteries will go into all of Hyundai Motor's lineups, including plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs)," adding, "We are discussing deeper levels of cooperation with Hyundai Motor·Kia, and you will see cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group expand across all models and all regions."
CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun attended Hyundai Motor's Ioniq V unveiling event on the 24th. Zeng met with Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon and said he hoped "Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles equipped with CATL batteries will expand not only in China but also worldwide."
Li emphasized high-energy nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries as CATL's strategic direction. On the 22nd, CATL unveiled its third-generation "Qilin (麒麟)" battery. With high energy density, it features long range. On a single charge, a sedan can travel 1,500 km and a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) can travel more than 1,000 km. Li said, "NCM is also an important development direction," adding, "CATL's standard ultra-fast charging technology has been applied. More mid- to high-end vehicles will be equipped with CATL batteries."
Until now, domestic companies such as LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI have focused their development and production on NCM (nickel·cobalt·manganese) batteries, which have higher energy density and are more expensive than Chinese companies' lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. In particular, a key strategy for domestic battery companies has been to install high-nickel NCM batteries, with nickel content raised above 90%, in premium vehicles. However, as CATL emphasizes NCM batteries aimed at high-end vehicles, competition with domestic companies appears inevitable.
Li cited research and development (R&D) as the background of CATL's growth. He said, "CATL has invested more than $10 billion (14.7 trillion won) in R&D over the years. As we expand investment, new technological achievements are emerging," adding, "CATL alone has more than 22,000 tech talent, and among them, those with doctoral degrees exceed 1,000." He added, "CATL will continue to invest in R&D."
At this year's Beijing Motor Show, the battery competition between BYD and CATL was also a key point to watch. On the 22nd, CATL unveiled its third-generation "Shenxing (神行)" battery. It is an LFP-based ultra-fast charging battery that takes 6 minutes and 27 seconds to charge from 10% to 98%. This surpassed the "full charge in 9 minutes" that BYD released last month.
Asked whether the company would enter markets with strict regulations such as North America and Europe, Li said, "Of course." He said, "We are already cooperating with automakers in more than about 100 countries and dozens of finished vehicle companies around the world. We are meeting the legal and regulatory requirements of each country."