Tesla has officially signed a contract in China with South Korean battery maker LG Chem. According to new reports, LG Chem will supply NCM batteries for Tesla’s upcoming Model Y Dual Motor vehicles for the Chinese market.
This news first came via Twitter when Tesla fan @Ray4Tesla tweeted about the upcoming partnership between Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory and LG Chem.
Now, media reports from China and South Korea confirm that Tesla has signed a deal with LG Chem to supply battery cells for the made-in-China electric SUV(via Business Korea): “LG Chem has been chosen as the sole battery supplier for Tesla’s Model Y to be mass-produced in China in early 2021.”
Tesla has been ramping up construction at Gigafactory Shanghai almost doubling the facility in size over the last several months. The automaker also recently received government approval for the Model Y made-in-China. This puts the company on track to start Model Y production at Gigafactory Shanghai within a matter of months with deliveries aimed to start in early 2021.
As mentioned above, the batteries will be of the NCM variety as Tesla has been experimenting with different battery chemistries for its made-in-China vehicles: “Tesla adopted cylindrical nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM) batteries for the new SUV model. The global electric vehicle giant chose LG Chem as the battery supplier, excluding China’s CATL and Japan’s Panasonic.”
Although production of the Model Y in China isn’t expected for at least a few more months, its seems like the company is prepared to start at the drop of a hat. Phase two of Gigafactory Shanghai is practically complete, which will support the production of the upcoming Model Y. With Tesla only waiting on mass production approval, the Model Y could be rolling off production at Gigafactory Shanghai sooner than we think.