The problem
As automakers committed to electrification, they needed a supplier that could deliver automotive-grade lithium-ion cells at enormous scale and consistent quality. Founded in 2011 in Ningde as a spin-off of consumer-electronics battery maker ATL, CATL got its break when BMW selected the young startup as a battery partner, setting the quality bar it then scaled globally.
How it works
CATL makes lithium-ion power batteries for EVs and storage batteries for grids and industry, selling cells, modules, and packs to customers including BMW and Stellantis. Its power-battery division remains dominant while the storage business grows fast, and it runs battery-swap offerings such as Choco-Swap plus widening overseas service networks.
Pain points
Automakers risk supply bottlenecks and quality failures when batteries come from small vendors; grids absorbing more renewables need cheap large-scale storage; and end drivers still want faster charging, longer range, and lower EV prices.
Business model
Hardware sales — power-battery systems to automakers and storage systems to energy customers — supplemented by swap services and after-sales networks; storage gross margins (about 24%) run above power-battery margins (about 20.6%).
Challenges
Gross margins are slipping under competition; Chinese batteries face trade and security scrutiny in the US and EU; and the overseas bet — plants in Germany and Hungary funded largely from the Hong Kong raise — must execute while EV demand cycles swing.
Funding
- Raised: about US$5 billion (HK$39.2 billion) via a Hong Kong placement of ~62.4 million shares, 2026’s largest Hong Kong deal, largely earmarked for international expansion including the Hungary factory.
- H1 2026: announced a RMB 20–40 billion A-share buyback alongside record profit.
Latest — July 2026
On 24 July 2026 CATL reported H1 2026 revenue of RMB 276.92 billion (up 54.8% year-on-year) and net profit of RMB 43.28 billion (up 42%), with the storage business up 87.5% to RMB 53.26 billion, and unveiled a massive share buyback to boost investor confidence.