Cenntro Electric Group, a company specializing in electric commercial vehicles, has announced the production of their own battery packs. The battery packs will be manufactured at Cenntro’s facilities in Freehold, New Jersey, and Herne, Germany.
Last year, Cenntro acquired Tropos Motors Europe, a supplier of compact electric commercial vehicles, and its assembly plant in Herne. The new battery packs will be initially installed in the Cenntro Metro vehicles.
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“By manufacturing our own battery packs, we hope to enhance supply chain efficiency, improve battery resilience, and ultimately have better control over one of the most strategic elements in our supply chain,” said Peter Wang, Chairman, and CEO. “Our ability to support multiple battery assembly operations demonstrates our effort and commitment to promoting local sourcing and local production.”
Cenntro currently uses LFP cells from an external supplier for their battery packs. However, the company plans to integrate battery cells produced by its subsidiary, Cennatic Power, in the future. Cenntro claims that the LFP battery packs will offer longer life, shorter charging times, and safer operation compared to the previous batteries used in the Cenntro Metro.
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No details about the energy content of the new LFP packs, the range they provide for the Cenntro Metro, or the supplier of the LFP cells have been disclosed in the announcement. Cenntro established Cennatic, its battery subsidiary, in August 2022 and rented a production facility of approximately 10,000 square meters in Monterrey, Mexico. According to previous reports, test production was expected to begin in the first half of 2023, but there has been no further update on this.
