CATL, the world’s largest battery maker, has implemented organizational changes to elevate the importance of its overseas operations to the same level as its domestic business, according to a report by LatePost.
The management at CATL has informed the company’s teams that this restructuring aims to better integrate resources in support of its globalization strategy.
As part of the reorganization, CATL has restructured all of its more than 40 factories into domestic and overseas regions, compared to the previous structure of six regions, the report stated.
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CATL has been making significant progress in expanding its battery capacity overseas. In Europe, the company’s German plant commenced operations last year, with its Hungarian plant scheduled to start up next year. Additionally, CATL plans to establish a plant in Spain through a joint venture with Stellantis, the parent company of brands such as Citroen and Fiat.
In North America, CATL is adopting a technology licensing approach to building plants, with partnerships already in place with Ford and Tesla, and negotiations ongoing for a similar partnership with General Motors.
CATL chairman Robin Zeng noted in March that since launching its License Royalty Service (LRS) model, more international car companies have been actively exploring cooperation with the company.
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Following the restructuring, co-president Feng Chunyan, previously in charge of production operations for the six regions, has assumed the role of Sponsor for CATL’s operations system, purchasing center, and logistics material management.
Zeng is now more directly involved in managing businesses including manufacturing operations and procurement.
The restructuring comes amidst fast-changing supply and demand dynamics in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market, according to a CATL insider, who emphasized the need for more direct management of production operations.
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Despite a slightly reduced market share, CATL remained the world’s largest battery maker in the January-April period, installing 81.4 GWh of batteries, a 30 percent increase from the same period last year, according to South Korean market researcher SNE Research.
