CATL’s M3P Battery Likely to Power Tesla Models – Report

Chinese power battery giant CATL’s M3P battery is poised to make its way into Tesla’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) vehicles, following its successful integration into a model jointly developed by Chery and Huawei, as reported by local media.

Responding to investor queries on February 28, CATL confirmed that its M3P batteries are already being utilized in a model co-developed by Chery and Huawei, with plans to expand its use to other customers, as reported by The Paper today.

See also: CATL to Begin Mass Production of New M3P Battery Technology, Promising Improved Performance and Lower Costs

While CATL is still in the process of developing and validating the battery for Tesla, the exact timeline for its integration remains uncertain, according to industry sources cited in the report.

CATL’s chairman, Robin Zeng, first mentioned the M3P battery during a roadshow in February 2022, sparking interest in the new technology.

In a presentation at a battery conference on July 22, 2022, CATL’s chief scientist, Wu Kai, announced that the M3P battery had entered mass production and would be deployed in 2023. Wu highlighted that the M3P battery offers higher energy density than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and is more cost-effective than ternary batteries.

See also: LFP Batteries Poised to Capture 40% Share of EV Market by 2024, Research Shows Potential for 50% by 2026

Primarily targeting markets with a range of over 700 kilometers, the M3P battery represents a significant advancement for CATL.

Reports from August 2022 indicated that CATL would begin supplying M3P batteries to Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2022, initially for use in the new Model Y, which was slated for release in early 2023.

Furthermore, it was reported in August 2022 that Tesla’s new China-made Model 3 would exclusively use CATL M3P batteries, providing a range boost of at least 10 percent across the entire lineup.

See also: CATL Leads Global EV Battery Market with 36.8% in 2023, BYD Follows with 15.8%: SNE Research

However, there have been no further updates or reports on the use of CATL’s M3P batteries in 2023, until now. The recent confirmation suggests that the Luxeed S7, launched by Huawei on November 28, 2023, could be the first model to feature CATL’s M3P battery, according to The Paper’s report.