Chinese battery maker CTAL launched its first factory in Europe on Jan. 26 in Arnstadt, Germany, the first plant opened by the company outside of China, according to a report by Reference News Network citing German news agency Agence France-Presse.
The plant is expected to eventually have an annual production capacity of 30 million cells, enough to assemble 185,000 to 350,000 electric vehicles. Matthias Zentgraf, president of CATL Europe, said the project is an investment of 1.8 billion euros (13.2 billion yuan), which he described as “the first high-volume battery production project in Western Europe.
It is planned that the plant will supply a number of European car companies with electric models, including BMW. According to Cengtgraff, one production line has already started up in Arnstadt, and five more will be in operation in the future, with mass production expected to begin in the middle of this year.
CATL is currently working on another European plant in Hungary.
