Motors Tracker

China's largest new energy vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology swallowed an 8-percent decline in its first-half net profits as the Covid-19 pandemic pummeled the macro economy, triggering a decline in NEV sales volume. CATL reported CNY18.8 billion (USD2.7 billion) in first-half operating revenue in an annual 7.08 percent drop, and realized net profit of CNY1.9 billion, according to the company's half-year earnings report it issued yesterday. The Ningde, Fujian province-based firm did not issue its customary first-half and third-quarter forecasts this year. China produced 350,000 NEVs and sold 336,000 units domestically in the first six months, down a respective 42 percent and 44 percent on the year. CATL's operating revenue from power battery sales plummeted 21 percent to CNY13.5 billion over the period in consequence. Shipments have increased markedly as the pestilence eases and the macro economy gradually recovers, it added. The news came as no great su...

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world’s biggest power battery maker, and Mercedes-Benz are upgrading their partnership with the aim of giving the German carmaker’s new EQS luxury sedan mileage of over 700 kilometers and double the charging speed of current models. The arrangement includes the full range of battery technologies, including cells and entire battery systems, along with the shared development of cutting-edge technology, Ningde, Fujian province-based CATL said in a statement yesterday. “Mercedes invented the car more than 130 years ago and has developed its technology with countless innovations,” CATL founder and Chief Executive Robin Zeng said. “This combined with CATL's expertise in battery, will be a decisive step to both parties' electrification strategies.” The collaboration will make CATL a leading supplier of Mercedes-Benz, under Stuttgart-based auto giant Daimler, to guarantee the battery supplies of the EQ series in the n...

China’s largest electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology completed CNY19.7 billion financing (USD2.8 billion) from nine investors who made its final cut, the firm said in its latest statement. Hillhouse Capital Group invested CNY10 billion, Honda Motor China Investment CNY3.7 billion, and seven companies including UBS and J.P. Morgan Securities the remaining CNY6 billion, Ningde, Fujian province-based CATL announced on July 17. The company’s private placement was priced at CNY161 (USD23) per share, equal to 98.28 percent of the average price of CNY163.81 in the 20 trading days before the investment subscription date, and 124.16 percent of the minimum offering price of CNY129.67 per share. The funding, which is over three times the amount it raised in its 2018 listing, will go to lift production and fuel research and development to hone the company's competitiveness against overseas rivals in an ever-more cut-throat terrain. This CNY161 starting price is not lo...

J&R Optimum Energy’s will supply power batteries for an electric version of the resurrected Hummer, a brand of trucks and sport utility vehicles. The deal is expected to generate revenue of about CNY2.4 billion (USD343.4 million) for J&R Optimum, the Xi’an-based company said in a statement yesterday. Hummer, which gained global fame during the Gulf War and was later discontinued because of high fuel consumption, is likely to be revived as an electric vehicle in the Chinese market. J&R Optimum said yesterday that 200,000 are expected to be made over the next five years and it will provide the lithium batteries, with a minimum total capacity of 3 Gigawatt hours. J&R Optimum will partner with Hummer Chongqing New Energy Technology Development, which holds the brand’s license, to jointly develop the Hummer G1.5 and cooperate in the vehicle’s battery support, launch and operation and battery retrieval, the statement added, without providing further details. J&R Optimum’s...

Orders can now be placed in China for Tesla’s Cybertruck, a pure electric light commercial vehicle with sports car speeds. Reservations can be made for as little as CNY1,000 (USD142), according to the US electric car giant’s China website. The model, slated to be released next year, is available for between USD39,900 and USD69,900 in the US.Orders for the Cybertruck has exceeded 620,000 as of March this year. Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the California-based startup sold over 30,000 units in China in the first five months of the year. It topped the country’s new energy vehicle sales in May.