On June 19th, both BAIC Group and Contemporary Amperex Technology announced that they signed a strategic cooperation agreement on June 18th to further deepen their cooperation in the new energy industry and jointly improve their core competitiveness. At the same day, the groundbreaking ceremony of the Beijing Times Battery Base Project, jointly invested and constructed by Contemporary Amperex Technology, BAIC Group, Jingneng Group, Xiaomi Group, was held.
Facing the rapidly changing market situation, the "Ning King" continues to tighten its bond with downstream automakers. On June 19th, BAIC Group and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) announced the signing of a deepening strategic cooperation agreement on June 18th, further deepening the cooperation between the two sides in the field of new energy industry and enhancing their core competitiveness together.
According to the agreement, the two sides will conduct in-depth cooperation on the next-generation pure electric platform CIIC skateboard chassis project, jointly research the skateboard chassis architecture, system, process, cost, and performance balance, define the automobile, intelligence, and individuality scenarios, and create products. In the field of battery swapping business, the cooperation between the two sides and the CATL's wholly-owned subsidiary, Times Electric, will focus on the development of battery swapping models and battery swapping blocks, circulation of battery swapping blocks and battery data management, regional cooperation of battery swapping stations, and other aspects.
At the same time, the two sides and their subsidiaries will also carry out cooperation in the development, sales, and supporting battery sales, leasing, and energy services of heavy-duty battery swapping business-related models. Specifically, BAIC Group, CATL, and Times Electric signed a framework agreement for the battery swapping project, and BAIC Research Institute and Times Intelligence signed a letter of intent for cooperation on key technologies of the new platform.
"Strong alliances are not only a rational matching of market resources but also contingency plans against setbacks." In the eyes of insiders, to some extent, the stand of CATL and downstream automakers is consistent. CATL vigorously develops sodium-ion batteries, avoiding the strong bargaining power of upstream lithium mining companies. The transformation of automakers to research and development of power batteries is also to avoid the strong bargaining power of midstream power battery manufacturers.
On the same day as the strategic cooperation agreement with the BAIC Group was reached, the Beijing Times CATL Battery Base project, jointly invested and built by CATL, BAIC Group, Beijing Energy Group, Xiaomi, and other companies, held its groundbreaking ceremony. It is reported that the Beijing Times CATL Battery Base project is designed according to the high standard of "lighthouse factory + zero-carbon factory", using the CATL's high-speed, highly automated, and flexible production line, which will provide stable and high-quality battery products for customers of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei automobile enterprises such as BAIC and Xiaomi after its completion.
By jointly investing in factories with automakers, CATL has become a typical strategy to bind downstream customers deeply. According to incomplete statistics from reporters, CATL has set up joint ventures with many domestic top automobile groups, including FAW, Dongfeng, Changan, SAIC, GAC, and Geely.
Moreover, joining hands with cities has also become a recent strategy for CATL to expand its "circle of friends". On June 17th, the official account of "Tianjin Release" announced that the Tianjin Municipal Government and CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement. In October 2023, CATL and the Zhaoqing Municipal Government signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement to carry out all-round cooperation in new energy integrated applications, green power development, production, and manufacturing, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry and the regional coordinated development, and building a green energy base in the Greater Bay Area (Zhaoqing), Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao. In September of the same year, CATL and Dongguan Municipal Government signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. Currently, CATL has 13 production bases worldwide, with 11 in China.
"It's easy to win the world, but hard to keep the world." CATL has already jumped out of the comfort zone of power batteries and expanded into the field of energy and other fields. Some insiders believe that to some extent, CATL's winning strategy lies in expanding sub-markets and application scenarios. Upstream enhancing bargaining power and downstream alliances with automakers are the ways CATL breaks through. "CATL's logic and path of expanding business territory are self-evident."