Chinese battery manufacturer Sunwoda said a subsidiary is facing a lawsuit from a Geely Holding Group–affiliated company over alleged quality issues in battery cells supplied for electric vehicles, marking a rare legal dispute in China’s EV supply chain.
In a stock exchange filing, Sunwoda said its subsidiary, Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery Co Ltd, has been sued by VREMT, a battery system company under the Geely umbrella, which is seeking compensation of 2.31 billion yuan ($330 million). The claim relates to battery cells supplied between June 2021 and December 2023 that VREMT alleges had quality defects.
The case has not yet gone to trial, and Sunwoda said it is currently unable to determine the potential impact of the lawsuit on its financial performance. The company added that its production and business operations remain normal.
Sunwoda said it is actively communicating with the counterparty and pursuing a “reasonable resolution” through negotiations, while preparing to make appropriate accounting adjustments depending on the progress of the case.
The filing did not disclose further technical details about the batteries involved or the specific nature of the alleged defects.
VREMT, founded in 2013, is controlled by Zeekr Group and operates under the broader Geely Holding Group. It supplies battery systems for several Zeekr-branded electric vehicle models.
Sunwoda is one of China’s major battery manufacturers, with installed battery capacity of 2.51 gigawatt-hours in November, according to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).