Cenntro kicks off battery assembly in the USA and Germany
The Cenntro Electric Group, a company specialising in electric commercial vehicles, has started producing its own battery packs. These will be assembled at Cenntro’s plant in Freehold in the US state of New Jersey and at the German plant in Herne.
Last year, Cenntro had taken over the majority of the Herne-based supplier of compact electric commercial vehicles Tropos Motors Europe, as well as its assembly plant. The battery packs will initially be installed in the vehicles of the Metro series. However, the Cenntro Metro is basically the same basic vehicle as the Tropos Able previously assembled in Herne.
Cenntro currently uses externally supplied LFP cells in its battery packs. In the future, the company plans to integrate battery cells produced by its subsidiary Cennatic Power. The LFP battery packs are expected to provide longer life, shorter charging times and safer operation compared to the batteries previously installed in the Metro, according to the company.
However, Cenntro does not specify the energy content of the new LFP packs, the range they allow in the Cenntro Metro and who the supplier of the LFP cells is in the announcement. Cenntro only founded its own battery subsidiary Cennatic in August 2022 and at the time rented a production hall of around 10,000 square metres in Monterrey, Mexico. According to information at the time, test production was to start in the first half of 2023. There is no further statement on this in the current communication on the assembly of the battery packs.
“By manufacturing our own battery packs, we hope to enhance supply chain efficiency, improve battery resilience, and ultimately have better control over one of the most strategic elements in our supply chain,” says Peter Wang, CEO of Cenntro.
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