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CATL Just Changed The Automotive Industry Forever
New batteries, new charging tech—the car business will never be the same.
Mathew Growden
April 27, 2025
This is a bullshit image I pulled from the CATL web site
If you are a regular reader of The Change Optimist newsletter, you likely already know about CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Ltd).
For new readers, CATL, based in China, is the world’s largest battery manufacturer, producing more than double the number of batteries of its next closest competitor, BYD.
10 largest EV battery producers in the world
You will find CATL batteries in EVs made by a whole whack of Chinese OEMs, as well as, EVs made by Ford, BMW, Tesla (the ones made and sold in China), Mercedes-Benz, Honda (the ones made and sold in China), Volkswagen, Toyota, and the Hyundai group.
This week, CATL made three significant announcements that will transform the automotive industry and establish new benchmarks for electric vehicle range and charging.
The Freevoy Dual-Power Battery
CATL’s Freevoy Battery platform comes in several configurations. It leverages zones of cells, mixed battery chemistry, and various technologies to support longer range and improved battery safety.
The longest-range option integrates an NCM battery with an LFP self-forming anode battery, achieving a breakthrough pure electric range of 1,500 kilometres.
The Shenxing Superfast Charging Battery
CATL’s new second-generation Shenxing Battery offers an 800-kilometre range and a peak charging power of 1.3 megawatts. With this power, it achieves 2.5 kilometres of range per second of charging, virtually eliminating the frustration of long charge times.
Shenxing charges faster than Tesla Superchargers and BYD’s recently announced 1000v Super e-platform, making it the fastest EV battery charging solution on the planet.
The Naxtra Sodium-Ion Battery
CATL's Naxtra Battery marks the first mass production of sodium-ion batteries. Sodium batteries have long promised to be cheaper, more sustainable, and safer than lithium-based batteries—and now that promise will become a reality.
Starting in December, CATL expects to put their Naxtra solution into full production.
It will be a few years before these technologies end up in vehicles on the road. However, CATL’s battery improvements may render range anxiety and charging wait times a thing of the past.
China’s Automotive Expansion
The Nissan Frontier Pro, a plug-in hybrid unveiled at the Shanghai auto show
Nissan plans to sell both an electric and a PHEV variant of the Frontier Pro truck in China. autonews.com
There was a lot of fantastic coverage of the Shanghai Auto Show on YouTube. youtube.com, youtube.com, youtube.com
Unlike Tesla, BYD's quarterly profit surges. reuters.com
MG’s new SUV concept has funky pop-up headlights. carscoops.com
Chinese sport-utility vehicle maker Jetour plans to launch in some European markets later this year. reuters.com
Chinese automakers and their foreign rivals are launching increasingly advanced long-range hybrids to meet the rising demand in the world's largest car market. reuters.com
Leapmotor partners with Chinese state-owned automaker FAW to deliver an EV platform that will be used in Hongqi-branded vehicles. autonews.com
Audi’s A5 Sportback has a huge battery and is only available in China. motor1.com
Toyota plans to become the second carmaker, after Tesla, to operate a wholly owned factory in China, following the signing of a deal to build a new electric vehicle plant near Shanghai. bloomberg.com
Must-Know Musk News
Tesla revenues are completely shit. Q1 profits slid dramatically, logging a 71% decrease in net income. theverge.com
Elon plans to cut back the time he spends on DOGE but might continue with DOGE until the end of The Donald’s term. techcrunch.com
Tesla’s LA diner and drive-in charging station is nearly complete. theverge.com
Tesla doubles down on robotaxi launch date. teslarati.com
The US Department of Transportation announced a revised Automated Vehicle Framework on Thursday. The framework introduces streamlined reporting that removes “unnecessary and duplicative requirements,” which may favour Tesla. theverge.com
Elon says that the production of Optimus humanoid robots is affected by China's export restrictions on rare earth magnets. reuters.com
Elon isn’t a fan of tariffs. cnbc.com
Rise Of The Machines
ULTRA by Overland AI is a tactical, autonomous, uncrewed, all-terrain vehicle built for military applications. youtube.com, overland.ai/ultra
Anduril Industries CEO, Palmer Luckey, thinks the best defence is an AI-based drone swarm offence. Listen to his TED talk. youtube.com
Stellantis opens up a new fully automated warehouse for Mopar in Fishkill, NY. autonews.com
Six different Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers are ready to move their bots into mass production this year. scmp.com
Energy
Saudi Arabian businesses are embracing solar power as they seek to reduce energy costs following the government's elimination of electricity subsidies. ft.com
Saudi oil giant Aramco signed a joint development agreement with BYD to collaborate on developing new energy vehicle technologies. theglobeandmail.com
Stellantis is collaborating with Factorial on new solid-state batteries that can be fast-charged in just 18 minutes. theverge.com
Canadian rare earth and metals recycler Cyclic Materials announced on Wednesday that it has invested over $20 million in its first commercial facility, located in Arizona. mining.com
LG Energy Chief warns that if US manufacturing backs off EVs they will “Lose the auto industry.” insideevs.com
But Wait, There’s More
Jeff Bezos wants you to drive one of his new Slate trucks
Bezos-backed Slate Auto officially unveils its compact, bare-bones, affordable, modular, electric truck with a starting price of around $20,000 USD. It has a standard NACS charge port and two modest battery options. Deliveries are due to start at the end of 2026. techcrunch.com, nbcnews.com, caranddriver.com, youtube.com
Stellantis restarts production in Windsor but not in Brampton. driving.ca, autonews.com
VW partners with Uber to put autonomous ID.Buzz robotaxis on US roads. techcrunch.com, theverge.com
Nissan scraps its plans to bring two US-made EV sedans to market. autonews.com
You can say goodbye to the Mazda CX-50. finance.yahoo.com
Hyundai Canada plans to import more Tucsons from Mexico. driving.ca
Subaru Canada to source more vehicles from Japan. driving.ca
Kia EVs can now charge at Tesla’s Superchargers. theverge.com
GM has an engine problem. autonews.com
Sundar might sell you a Waymo one day. theverge.com
California plans to allow testing of self-driving heavy-duty trucks. reuters.com
Let’s Circle Back
Here are some updates on some previous newsletters
An Ontario judge has granted an injunction that would pause any removal of bike lanes in Toronto while he considers a Charter challenge of the province's plan. cbc.ca
Ontario is open to a compromise with the City of Toronto on plans to remove three bicycle lanes, the transportation minister's office said. cbc.ca
Unscrambling The Automotive Omelette
The Donald told reporters this week that Canada might see auto tariffs further increase. “They took a large percentage of the carmaking, and I want to bring it back to this country,” he said. “I really don’t want cars from Canada. So when I put tariffs on Canada — they’re paying 25 percent, but that could go up in terms of cars — when we put tariffs on, all we’re doing is saying, ‘We don’t want your cars, in all due respect, we want really to make our own cars,’ which is what we’re doing in record numbers.” theverge.com
“China has sent back planes it ordered from the US in its latest retaliation over Trump tariffs, the boss of aircraft maker Boeing has said.
Kelly Ortberg said two planes had already been returned and another would follow after trade tensions between the two countries escalated.
Boeing's chief executive told CNBC that 50 more planes were due to go to China this year but their customers had indicated they will not take delivery of them.” bbc.com, cnn.com
The Change Optimist is presenting our newly minted Consumer Automotive Research And Stuff (C.A.R.S.) at Dealer Huddle Next on May 7th. Buy your tickets here:
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