The two sites CATL is considering are both near the Texas border, and the company is considering investing as much as $5 billion in the project, according to Bloomberg.
Chinese power battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL, SHE: 300750) is considering at least two locations in Mexico for a manufacturing plant that could potentially supply Tesla and Ford, according to a Bloomberg report today.
CATL is considering Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, and Saltillo, Coahuila, both near the Texas border, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that the company is considering investing as much as $5 billion in the project.
The company is also considering splitting its investment between two locations - one in the United States and one in Mexico. A final decision has not been made, however, and the total size of the investment is uncertain, the report added.
The CATL site would help Mexico consolidate its role in the region's electric vehicle production, which has long been a major part of the auto industry's supply chain, the Bloomberg report noted.
The company could choose to produce battery cells in Mexico and then ship them to Kentucky to be assembled into battery packs. In 2020, CATL bought a former RR Donnelley & Sons Co printing plant in Glasgow, Kentucky, and set up a subsidiary in the state, according to the report.
In April 2021, CATL hired manufacturing executive Charles Huang as the project's chief executive officer, according to his LinkedIn page.
CATL is the world's largest power battery maker, with a 35 percent global market share in the first quarter, higher than second-place LG Energy Solution's 15.9 percent, according to a report released in May by Seoul-based SNE Research.
In China, CATL was No. 1 with a 49.6 percent share of power battery installations at 13.4 GWh in June, according to data released earlier this month by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance.
On March 19, Bloomberg reported that CATL was considering sites across North America for a major $5 billion plant to supply customers, including Tesla.
CATL aims to build a plant capable of producing up to 80 GWh of batteries per year, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter, adding that the plant would eventually employ up to 10,000 workers.
In an online exchange with investors on May 5, CATL said it had explored various possible supply and partnership options with its US customers, as well as the possibility of localized production.
On May 6, Reuters reported that CATL was in the final stages of reviewing locations for US electric vehicle battery production, an investment that would mark the Chinese company's first production in the world's second-largest auto market.
CATL was in talks to open plants serving BMW and Ford, with potential locations including South Carolina and Kentucky, where the automakers have assembly plants, the report said, citing two people familiar with the matter.
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