BYD and Weichai Power will build a power battery development and manufacturing base in Shandong province, where the latter is headquartered.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY), one of the world's largest manufacturers of power batteries, is expanding its customer base.
BYD and Weichai Power, China's largest diesel engine maker, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shenzhen on May 12 to collaborate on the joint production of power batteries, according to a post by the latter on Weibo.
Tan Xuguang, chairman and CEO of Weichai, and Wang Chuanfu, chairman and president of BYD, attended the signing ceremony, according to the article.
(Image credit: Weicai Power)
The two sides will produce power batteries in a joint venture in Shandong to build a power battery R&D and manufacturing base to promote the development of new energy commercial vehicles in China, the article said, without providing further details.
Weichai, based in Weifang, Shandong province, posted revenue of RMB 53.4 billion ($7.67 billion) and net profit of RMB 1.86 billion in the first quarter, according to its financial report.
Weichai began its involvement in the new energy business in 2010, especially in the fuel cell sector.
The company has a new energy engine base in Weifang, and its chairman, Tan, is also chairman of Sinotruk, which has a new energy heavy truck manufacturing base in Jinan.
BYD is the world's largest maker of new energy vehicles (NEVs) and the world's second-largest maker of power batteries.
BYD installed 21.5 GWh of power batteries in the first quarter, ranking second globally with a 16.2 percent share, behind CATL's 35.0 percent, according to data released earlier this month by South Korean market research firm SNE Research.
In China, BYD installed 7.32 GWh of power batteries in April, ranking second with a 29.11 percent share, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA). CATL ranked first in China with a 40.83 percent share in April.
In Shandong, where Weichai is headquartered, BYD has a car assembly plant, a power battery factory and a chip factory.
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