CATL's investment will mark a giant leap in CATL's global expansion, the company's founder and chairman Zeng Yuqun said in a statement.
China's CATL (300750. SZ) plans to build a battery plant in Hungary with USD 7.6 billion, and it will be Europe's largest plant in Europe CATL is estimated to be the world's biggest electric vehicle battery maker then. CATL said that construction of the 100 GWh plant in the eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen, its biggest overseas investment, would start this year after receiving approvals, and should last no more than 64 months.
Once built, it is set to be Europe's largest battery cell plant and CATL's second in the region, making battery cells and modules for carmakers including Mercedes-Benz (MBGn: DE), BMW (BMWG: DE), Stellantis (STLA: MI) and Volkswagen (VOWG: DE). Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and Tesla (TSLA: NASDAQ) have all announced or started to implement major battery expansion plans in Europe to secure access to vital cells and raw materials and support their electrification strategies. The investment is also key for Hungary, which is becoming a major hub for electric vehicles and batteries in Europe.
Mercedes-Benz said in a separate statement it would be the first partner to receive battery cells from CATL's Hungarian plant, and that its order marked the highest initial order volume for the site. 'This new state-of-the-art European CATL plant in Hungary is another milestone for the scale-up of our EV production together with our key partners,' Mercedes-Benz management board member Markus Schaefer said.
CATL's investment will mark a giant leap in CATL's global expansion, the company's founder and chairman Zeng Yuqun said in a statement. CATL previously said it would start supplying cylindrical cells to BMW from 2025 for its new series of electric vehicles. The Chinese company also said it is also examining the possibility of joining forces with local partners to establish facilities for battery materials in Europe. As of the end of 2021, CATL had an annual battery production capacity of 170.39 GWh, with 140 GWh capacity under construction. The company said previously it aims to install a total of 670 GWh annual capacity by 2025.