Chinese power battery giant BYD and the largest diesel engine company Weichai Power formally inked a strategic partnership agreement for the co-production of batteries in Shenzhen on May 12, according to the latter’s press release.
Weichai Chairman/CEO Tan Xuguang and BYD Chairman/president Wang Chuanfu were present at the partnership’s signing ceremony.
Purpose
The newly developed joint venture between BYD and Weichai aims to develop an R&D and production hub to effectively produce power batteries.
They aim to boost new energy commercial vehicle development in the Chinese market, the report stated.
Unfortunately, the companies have not yet disclosed further details about the new JV.
About the partners
Shandong-based Weichai recorded an RMB 53.4 billion ($7.67 billion) revenue and an RMB 1.86 billion net profit in Q1 2023, CnEVPost reports citing the company’s financial report.
The diesel engine maker initially penetrated the new energy sector in 2010, particularly in the fuel cell segment.
Meanwhile, BYD is the biggest NEV maker and the top 2 largest power battery company across the world. Its power battery deployment reached 21.5 GWh in Q1 2023, with a market share of 16.2%. It trails behind the first placer CATL with a 35% market share, per SNE Research data (cited by CnEVPOst).
In April alone, BYD deployed 7.32 GWh of power batteries. It defended its second top position with a 29.11% market share, per China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance’s data (cited by CnEVPOst). As usual, CATL led the market with a share of 40.83%.
See Also:
- EV battery market leader CATL reported shares decline in January, BYD increases
- BYD begins building its 20 GWh Wenzhou battery plant
- BYD plans to build another $1.2 billion EV battery plant in China, per filings
- BYD unveils Singapore’s first Blade-battery powered bus at 2022 SITCE
- BYD can surpass CATL as the leader in battery manufacturing
It is also worth noting that BYD operates a production plant for electric vehicles, power batteries, and chips in Shandong, where Weichai’s headquarters is located.
Therefore, the partnership between the two companies will be easier and faster.
