Mercedes-Benz and Chinese giant CATL have announced an agreement to jointly develop “cutting-edge batteries” for electric cars. Further confirming that the future flagship of the star brand, the expected EQS, will employ cells from the Asian manufacturer, which is currently the world’s largest provider of batteries for electric vehicles.
The partnership between the two companies will allow “supporting the electrification of the Mercedes-Benz model portfolio”, as the sales volume of the German firm’s EQ electric range is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years. The agreement will cover from cells for cars to complete packs for vans.
Following the announcement, Markus Schäfer, a member of Daimler’s Board of Directors, stated the following: “We intend to lead the technological development of batteries, so we are now combining our R & D experience with bold partners. We will integrate state-of-the-art battery systems to create luxury cars with outstanding autonomy, charging speed, safety, and sustainability. Working with CATL will accelerate our transformation to neutral carbon dioxide emissions. CATL will be a major supplier that will ensure the next generations of our EQ products’ capacity in the coming years. “It seems clear that CATL will become the main supplier of cells for the Daimler group, at least in the short term.”
One of the most interesting points of this agreement is that Mercedes-Benz will use CATL’s CTP (cell to pack) design, which allows better use of the package thanks to eliminating the modules. This solution is also being employed by BYD in its Blade batteries, while Elon Musk recently confirmed that Tesla will be using it in the future as well.