In February, The Driven reported that development of a cobalt-free battery by Tesla and CATL was on the cards, according to another report first made by Reuters.
Electric car maker Tesla Inc plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models.
For months, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has been teasing investors, and rivals, with promises to reveal significant advances in battery technology during a “Battery Day” in late May.
The sources said CATL also plans to supply Tesla in China next year with an improved long-life nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery whose cathode is 50% nickel and only 20% cobalt.
“We’ve got to really make sure we get a very steep ramp in battery production and continue to improve the cost per kilowatt-hour of the batteries — this is very fundamental and extremely difficult,” Musk told investors in January.
# “We’ve got to scale battery production to crazy levels that people cannot even fathom today.” !!!
Not long after, reports emerged in November that Elon Musk had met with CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun, presumed at the time to be part of the goal to localise parts for the Model 3 being produced at Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory 3 ( localisation of parts is a major goal for Tesla in China in order to bring manufacturing costs down ).
Battery deals
In order to supply its vehicles with enough batteries for this massive increase in production, Tesla has also been in talks with China’s domestic battery company CATL.
Reports say that a preliminary agreement on the battery supply for the Shanghai factory has already been reached, with further discussions underway for a potential global battery supply agreement.
*According to Bloomberg, Musk met for 40 minutes in late August with CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun and it is thought that a final agreement could be reached by mid-2020.
If that were to happen, the long established relationship between the Tesla and Panasonic which has been handling Tesla’s car battery supply chain may face major changes.
A global deal with CATL would become the second such agreement for Tesla after Panasonic, and would diversify risks associated with meeting battery demand which could slow production.
Using locally made batteries would, however, mitigate certain risks such as trade tariffs and import costs, and allow the EV maker to reduce the average selling price (ASP) of its China-made vehicles.
It would also go a long way to ensuring the EV maker’s continued growth.
*So the $64,000 Question imo, was it just a coincidence that Musk ( Tesla ) met with the "Big Cheese" at CAT in August 2019, then just a few months later We / AVZ announced the Deal with Yibin / CAT ?
*Now we have confirmation that, as Qball said,
"This deal is indeed all about CATL".
*Maybe Not so much about Tesla, No Doubt we will here more on that sooner or later.
Then, i stumbled across this tasty morsel, sooner than i expected, as
Tesla begins producing long-range China Model 3
Tesla has started production of the long-range version of the Model 3 in Shanghai, China.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin shortly.
As Tesla stated on its Weibo account, the Gigafactory 3 will build the long-range model with rear-wheel drive in addition to the ‘Standard Range+’ version of the Model 3 electric car.
The vehicles will be delivered in just a few weeks: According to Tesla, customers can expect to receive the first MIC Model 3 LR in June 2020.
The long-range battery has a claimed range of 650 kilometres according to the NEDC standard still used in China.
In Europe where the EV comes with four-wheel drive, the WLTP test results in a range of over 530 kilometres.
The differences are not only in the different measuring cycles, however, but also in the different batteries installed – despite the same model designation.
The Model 3 built-in Fremont uses the cylindrical Panasonic cells from Gigafactory 1.
The Giga Shanghai is supplied with cells from CATL (for the future SR+ models) and from LG Chem (Long Range) as reported.
Tesla had discontinued the Model 3 Long Range with rear-wheel drive in the summer of 2019.
Together with the long-range model, advance sales of the performance version had also started in China. However, the AWD model with the large battery will probably not be delivered in China until the first quarter of 2021.
For the MIC Model 3 LR available now, Tesla quotes prices somewhat higher than when the sales start was announced in April: At that time, the talk was of 366,550 yuan before and 339,050 yuan after the subsidy.
Now the base price for the LR model is 344,050 yuan after the grant – that is 5,000 yuan or the equivalent of 652 Euro more than before.
However, the MIC Model 3 Long Range will only benefit for a short time from the subsidy of currently 27,500 Yuan: The recently announced new regulation will come into force at the end of June.
Then the subsidy rates will decrease slightly, and a price cap of 300,000 yuan will be introduced. The long-range Model 3 will subsequently no longer be eligible for subsidies.
For the SR+ version of the China Model 3, however, Tesla had lowered the prices at the beginning of May from 323,000 Yuan to 291,000 Yuan, so that the entry-level model would remain eligible.
*I bet the "CAT likes that
www.electrive.com
*To Remind
China extends new-energy vehicle tax exemptions by two years
BEIJING — China announced on April 22 to extend tax exemptions on new-energy vehicle (NEV) purchases by an additional two years to better promote the sector's development and boost car sales.
The tax exemptions, which were set to expire at the end of this year, will continue from Jan 1 2021 until Dec 31, 2022, for electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell-powered vehicles, according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The move was decided at a State Council meeting last month, during which the government vowed to roll out a set of fiscal and financial policies to expand domestic demand, assist businesses reopening, sustain employment, and help all types of businesses to weather this difficult time.
China's passenger car market recorded a strong month-on-month rebound in March as business resumption gained momentum amid further containment of the COVID-19 epidemic.
NEV sales, which fell 70 percent month on month in Feb, jumped 400 percent in March from February, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
www.gov.cn
Tesla fast-tracks new Giga plant, Texas seems a winner
In China, Tesla secured a new loan only last week.
Tesla may only use the funds for the expansion of automobile production at the Shanghai location.
In addition to the existing Model 3 production, Tesla is currently building a second hall to make the Model Y in China.
electrek.co
*So if that's the case then i can't help wonder who is going to supply Tesla with Batteries for the Model Y as well as the Model 3 when,
To remind,
In order to supply its vehicles with enough batteries for this massive increase in production, Tesla has also been in talks with China’s domestic battery company CATL.
Elon Musk had met with CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun, presumed at the time to be part of the goal to localise parts for the Model 3 being produced at Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory 3 ( localisation of parts is a major goal for Tesla in China in order to bring manufacturing costs down ).
Musk met for 40 minutes in late August with CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun and it is thought that a final agreement could be reached by mid-2020.
A global deal with CATL would become the second such agreement for Tesla after Panasonic, and would diversify risks associated with meeting battery demand which could slow production.
“We’ve got to scale battery production to crazy levels that people cannot even fathom today.” !!!
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