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CATL reshuffles team, gives equal focus to overseas business as domestic

CATL has reorganized all of its more than 40 factories into domestic and overseas regions, which were previously under six regions.

(A CATL battery on display at the Shanghai auto show in April 2023. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Chinese power battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL, SHE: 300750) has made its latest organizational changes, putting its overseas operations on the same level of importance as its domestic business, local media outlet LatePost reported today.

CATL’s management told the company’s teams that this is to better integrate resources to support its globalization strategy, according to the report.

The battery maker has reorganized all of its more than 40 factories into domestic and overseas regions, where they previously belonged to six regions, the report said.

Since last year, CATL has made progresses in its efforts to build battery capacity overseas.

In Europe, CATL’s German plant went into operation last year, and its Hungarian plant is scheduled to start up next year.

In addition, the company plans to build a plant in Spain in a joint venture with Stellantis, which owns brands including Citroen and Fiat, LatePost noted.

In North America, CATL is also currently taking a technology licensing approach to building plants with Ford and Tesla, and is negotiating a similar partnership with General Motors, the report said.

CATL chairman Robin Zeng said in March that after the company launched its LRS (License Royalty Service) model, more international car companies began to actively explore cooperation with it, the report noted.

Following the new restructuring, co-president Feng Chunyan, who originally managed production operations for the previous six regions, has become the Sponsor of CATL’s operations system, purchasing center and logistics material management, according to the report.

According to a CATL insider, the decision-making power of Sponsor is higher than that of the person in charge of the actual business at the company, LatePost said.

Zeng is now more directly managing businesses including manufacturing operations and procurement, following the restructuring.

Another CATL source attributed the adjustments to the fast-changing supply and demand in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market, the report said.

Changes are faster and the company’s handlers need to manage production more directly, the source said.

CATL continued to remain the world’s largest battery maker in the January-April period, albeit with a slightly reduced share, according to South Korean market researcher SNE Research.

The company installed 81.4 GWh of batteries in the January-April period, up 30 percent from 62.6 GWh in the same period last year, for a 37.7 percent share.

CATL starts construction of production base in Beijing to supply Xiaomi, BAIC, Li Auto

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