BMW boosts battery cell order from CATL

BMW Group will significantly increase its order from leading Chinese batter cell supplier Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. to support its vehicle electrification drive. 

The order volume from CATL will be increased to 7.3 billion euros for the 2020-2031 period, up from the initial volume of 4 billion euros under a contract signed in 2018, the German automaker said last week.

Of that volume, battery cells worth 2.8 billion euros will be used by BMW Brilliance Automotive, its production joint venture in China, BMW Group said. The rest of the battery cells will be supplied to its production outside China. 

In 2011, BMW Group became the first global automaker to use CATL’s battery cells in its local joint venture – BMW Brilliance. 

It has also become the first customer of CATL’s battery cell plant currently still under construction in Erfurt, Germany, the German group said. 

Last week, BMW Group also signed a contract with Samsung SDI to purchase battery cells valued at 2.9 billion euros from the Korean supplier from 2021 to 2031. 

The German automaker also said it will source cobalt and lithium directly from mines in Australia and other countries and ship the materials to CATL and Samsung SDI. 

“This gives the company full transparency over where both raw materials come from,” Andreas Wendt, a management board member at BMW Group responsible for purchasing and supplier network, said in a statement.

“Compliance with environmental standards and respect for human rights have the highest priority,” he added.