- Mercedes-Benz and CATL have today announced an enhanced partnership in the 
field of battery technology. 
- The electric luxury sedan Mercedes-Benz EQS will launch next year with a WLTP 
range of over 700 km, equipped with CATL cell modules. 
- Mercedes-Benz and CATL will jointly boost the industrialization of 
lithium-ion batteries in Germany.

Mercedes-Benz and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited 
(CATL)<300750.SZ> have entered the next stage of their strategic partnership 
and will create cutting-edge battery technology in support of the high-volume 
electrification of the Mercedes-Benz model portfolio. The Stuttgart-based 
luxury car maker is accelerating its "Electric First" strategy with advanced, 
CO2-neutrally produced battery cells, modules and systems supplied by CATL, a 
technology leader in lithium-ion batteries. The agreement covers the full range 
of battery technologies, from cells across modules for Mercedes-Benz Cars to 
entire battery systems for Mercedes-Benz Vans in promising innovative 
technology configurations. This also includes the CATL cell-to-pack (CTP) 
design, which eliminates conventional modules and integrates the cells directly 
into the battery.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200805/2877000-1-a
Left- Markus Schafer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and 
Mercedes-Benz AG; Right-Dr. Robin Zeng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of CATL

"We intend to lead in battery technologies, so we are now combining our own 
research and development expertise with bold partners. We will integrate 
cutting-edge battery systems to create luxury cars with outstanding range, 
charging speed, safety and sustainability. Working with CATL will see us 
accelerate our transformation towards carbon-neutrality," said Markus Schafer, 
Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, 
responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars COO. "CATL will 
be a major supplier securing capacity for the next generations of our EQ 
products in the years to come. "

"Mercedes-Benz is a special and important partner to CATL. We are very pleased 
to further expand and upgrade the partnership for both parties' future 
development. Mercedes invented the car more than 130 years ago and has 
developed its technology with countless innovations. This combined with CATL's 
expertise in battery, will be a decisive step to both parties' electrification 
strategies," said Dr. Robin Zeng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of CATL. "Together 
we collaborate on developing and delivering reliable, competitive solutions to 
promote worldwide e-mobility."

Electrification of its model portfolio with innovative battery technologies 

Battery cells are at the heart of highly complex battery systems. Their 
chemistry contributes significantly to the performance, range and service life 
of electric vehicles. Through its strategic partnership with CATL, 
Mercedes-Benz will advance its development of current and future best-in-class 
lithium-ion batteries. The two partners have already started working on future 
battery generations to be introduced in a number of vehicles within the next 
few years. The clear goal is to shorten development cycles, significantly 
increase the ranges of future batteries through advances in energy density and 
reduce charging times. In order to make electrification even more attractive 
for customers in the luxury segment, the goals set are ambitious: With the EQS 
luxury sedan, which will be delivered to customers next year, the development 
goal is a long-distance range of more than 700 km (WLTP range) and a doubling 
of the charging speed compared to current models. The Mercedes-Benz EQS will 
also be equipped with CATL cell modules.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200805/2877000-1-b
Hubertus Troska, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible 
for Greater China

"Daimler will continue to strengthen its global competitiveness and enhance 
efficiency by working with strong and innovative partners to pursue our future 
strategy, including electric mobility. In China, we have established strong 
cooperation with key industry and technology players over the years that have 
contributed not only to our strong growth momentum but also brought efficiency 
in production, purchasing and research and development", said Hubertus Troska, 
Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Greater China. 
"We are now pleased to bring our cooperation with CATL, a world-leading battery 
manufacturer from China, to a new level and will further integrate this 
partnership into our strategy of 'Electric First' and sustainable development. 
We believe such cooperation will enable Daimler to continue to delight our 
customers with technology leadership and accelerated innovation." 

Mercedes-Benz and CATL are committed to engineer and produce quality- and 
performance- leading batteries with the most sustainable footprint possible. 

Battery products from carbon-neutral production

With "Ambition2039", Mercedes-Benz is pursuing the long-term vision of a 
climate-neutral new passenger car fleet and is actively driving the 
transformation to CO2-neutrality. In order to minimize the carbon footprint of 
current and future vehicle generations, the partners have agreed to the 
carbon-neutral production of battery products. To enable this, CATL will use 
electricity from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydropower 
for its production. At the beginning of 2020, Mercedes-Benz and CATL had 
already launched a joint pilot project using blockchain technology to create 
transparency on the emissions of climate-damaging gases and the proportion of 
secondary material along the battery cell supply chain. The next step is to 
significantly reduce the reliance on raw material mining through the recycling 
of end-of-life batteries.

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200805/2877000-1-c 
Zhou Jia, President of CATL

"Within the framework of this newly established strategic partnership, CATL 
fully commits to Mercedes-Benz AG's sustainability goals including 'Ambition 
2039'. This includes sustainable production with renewable energy, the minimum 
CO2 footprint in terms of logistics within the whole supply chain and respect 
for all aspects of social responsibility. CATL will ensure CO2 neutral battery 
production and maximize CO2 reduction in the battery supply chain for next 
generation Mercedes-Benz EQ starting with the EQS," said Zhou Jia, President of 
CATL. "I am convinced that this partnership will open new opportunities for 
both companies to create a sustainable business and speed-up the transition of 
our industry."

Industrialization of a key technology in Germany 

The strategic partnership of Mercedes-Benz and CATL accelerates the further 
development and industrialization of cutting-edge battery technologies in 
Germany. With the construction of CATL's Thuringia plant, CATL is developing a 
European service system to offer Mercedes-Benz more competitive products, as 
well as a smooth supply. This will allow Mercedes-Benz to further increase the 
degree of localization in procurement and to purchase battery products from the 
CATL plant near Erfurt in the future.

About CATL

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) is a global leader in the 
development and manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, with businesses 
covering R&D, manufacturing and sales in battery systems for new energy 
vehicles and energy storage systems. In 2019, the company's EV battery sales 
volume reached 40.25 GWh worldwide, and making it the world leader in annual EV 
battery consumption volume (source SNE Research).

Headquartered in Ningde, China, CATL has more than 26,000 employees around the 
world as of 2019  and subsidiaries in Beijing, Liyang (Jiangsu Province),  
Xining (Qinghai Province) and Yibin (Sichuan Province), as well as in Munich 
(Germany), Paris (France), Yokohama (Japan), Detroit (USA) and Vancouver 
(Canada).  In addition, the company owns and operates battery manufacturing 
facilities in Fujian, Jiangsu, Qinghai and Sichuan provinces, and in its 
European plant located in Erfurt, Germany, its first overseas plant that is 
currently under construction. In June 2018, the company went public on the 
Shenzhen Stock Exchange with stock code 300750.

For more information, please visit http://www.catlbattery.com. 

Mercedes-Benz AG at a glance

Mercedes-Benz AG is responsible for the global business of Mercedes-Benz Cars 
and Mercedes-Benz Vans with over 173,000 employees worldwide. Ola Kallenius is 
Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG. The company focuses on 
the development, production and sales of passenger cars, vans and services. 
Furthermore, the company aspires to be leading in the fields of connectivity, 
automated driving and alternative drives with its forward-looking innovations. 
The product portfolio comprises the Mercedes-Benz brand with the sub-brands 
Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes me - as well as the smart brand, 
and the EQ product and technology brand for electric mobility. Mercedes-Benz AG 
is one of the largest manufacturers of premium passenger cars. In 2019 it sold 
nearly 2.4 million cars and more than 438,000 vans. In its two business 
divisions, Mercedes-Benz AG is continually expanding its worldwide production 
network with over 40 production sites on four continents, while aligning itself 
to meet the requirements of electric mobility. At the same time, the company is 
developing its global battery production network on three continents. 
Sustainable actions play a decisive role in both business divisions. To the 
company, sustainability means creating value for all stakeholders on a lasting 
basis: customers, employees, investors, business partners and the society as a 
whole. The basis for this is the sustainable business strategy of Daimler in 
which the company takes responsibility for the economic, ecological and social 
effects of its business activities and looks at the entire value chain.

SOURCE: CATL

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=368652

   Caption: Left- Markus Schafer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler 
AG and Mercedes-Benz AG; Right-Dr. Robin Zeng, Founder, Chairman and CEO of CATL

   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=368654

   Caption: Hubertus Troska, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, 
responsible for Greater China

   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=368655

   Caption: Zhou Jia, President of CATL