CATL will build an electric vehicle battery production facility in Hungary with an investment of €7.34 billion. CATL is known as a supplier of batteries for Tesla and NIO electric vehicles.

CATL, an electric vehicle battery giant, announced plans to build a battery factory in Hungary.

This announcement follows NIO’s previous announcement that it would build a battery swap station production facility in the same country.

The location chosen for the CATL production base is located in Debrecen, Hungary, with a total investment of no more than 7.34 billion euros, according to the company. The production base is targeted to have an annual capacity of 100 GWh, according to the announcement.

CATL said that the move is to further deepen its global strategic layout, promote overseas business development and meet overseas market demands.

The CATL battery production base in Hungary has 2.21 million square meters, with a construction target of no more than 64 months.

The plant will be CATL’s second plant in Europe, in addition to its production base in Germany. The plant in Hungary is targeted to produce cells and modules for European automakers.

CATL’s production base in Hungary is close to the assembly plants of customers’ vehicles, including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen making it more responsive to the needs of the European market.

In addition, CATL will also explore the possibility of establishing a battery materials factory with local partners to promote a sustainable and recyclable battery value chain.

Mercedes-Benz will be the new plant’s first and largest customer at initial capacity, said Markus Schafer, Mercedes’ Chief Technology Officer, according to CATL’s WeChat post.

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