Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto said it has established a joint venture with Sunwoda subsidiary SEVB to produce and sell lithium-ion batteries, as it looks to tighten control over costs, supply chain and technology.
The 50-50 partnership, registered with the Shanghai Market Regulation Authority, comes as Li Auto accelerates its push into fully electric vehicles. Until recently, the company mainly sold range-extender models, but since 2024 has increasingly focused on pure battery-electric cars, heightening the importance of in-house battery expertise.
Li Auto already collaborates with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), extending a development partnership for another five years last week. However, unlike the CATL arrangement, the SEVB joint venture involves batteries developed independently by Li Auto’s 200-person research and development team. The group is working on fast-charging cells with a 5C charging rate, as well as structural and software innovations, with Chief Executive Ma Donghui said to review progress every two weeks.
Drive batteries account for 30% to 35% of an EV’s total cost, giving Li Auto a strong incentive to secure its supply chain. SEVB, which until recently derived most of its revenue from consumer electronics, has expanded into EV batteries and has been a Li Auto supplier since 2017. The carmaker invested 400 million yuan ($55 million) in SEVB in 2022 for a 3.22% stake.
Li Auto vehicles including the L6, L7 Air and L8 Air already use SEVB power storage systems. Around 1,700 SEVB employees now work exclusively on Li Auto projects, up from 1,300 last year.
Source: kr-asia.com