CATL considers building battery plant in the USA
Despite the US President Trump kicking off a trade war with China in his first term, the Chinese CEO seems confident that the second term for the US president will bring a different situation. Under the Biden administration, the tariffs had certainly also not made for a welcoming picture for Chinese investment. At the end of September, a ban was even proposed for connected vehicles from China due to national security reasons. A Republican bill was also proposed under which the subsidies would be even further limited for US-American manufacturers who utilize Chinese batteries, such as Ford and Tesla, but this was blocked by the Biden administration.
A Reuters report also sees economic potential in the investment by Chinese companies, but also points to possible competition issues: “Unlike CATL, BYD also makes electric cars and now rivals Tesla for the global EV sales lead.” This may play a particularly important role in the deal, as Tesla’s CEO is to be part of the US government.
Despite the ongoing trade war, Trump showed himself open to investment from China in an interview in August: “We’re going to give incentives, and if China and other countries want to come here and sell the cars, they’re going to build plants here, and they’re going to hire our workers,” he said. Considering Elon Musk’s involvement in the new US government administration, the move is not unlikely. Most recently, Tesla and CATL announced plans to build a battery factory in the USA together. However, despite the cooperation between the companies, Zeng still had some criticism of Musk’s decisions, particularly the heavy reliance on the 4860 format battery cell: “We had a very big debate, and I showed him,” Zeng said. “He was silent. He doesn’t know how to make a battery. It’s about electrochemistry. He’s good for the chips, the software, the hardware, the mechanical things.”
Zeng also made positive comments about the self-driving software that Tesla has promised, however, he took issue with the proposed time-plan: “He probably himself thinks it needs five years, but if you believe him when he says two years, you will be in big trouble. The direction is right.”
Last week, Zeng said: “Originally, when we wanted to invest in the U.S., the U.S. government said no. For me, I’m really open-minded.”
CATL has steadily been expanding its international footprint, announcing plans for a battery cell factory in Indonesia just last month, as well as revealing plans to build a battery-swapping network in China.
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