Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), which is the largest electric vehicle battery maker globally by sales, set up a joint venture with First Automotive Works (FAW), China’s oldest automobile manufacturer according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Anticipating a bright future in China’s new energy vehicle market, the joint venture is set to invest RMB 4.4 billion (USD 652.5 million) in a battery project located in the city of Ningde, East China’s Fujian province, said CATL, whose headquarters is in the same city.
The battery maker announced in another filing on Thursday that it made a net profit of RMB 3.39 billion (USD 502.3 million) in 2018, down by 12.7% year-on-year.
For this year, CATL has positive expectations. In a filing earlier this month the company said it expects its profits in the first three months of this year to fall between RMB 992 million and RMB 1.12 billion (USD 148 million to 167 million), representing an increase by 140% to 170% compared to the same period in 2018.
CATL attributed this increase in profits to its increased capacity to meet the higher demand for EV batteries in China.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com
Editor: Nadine Freischlad