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After the electric vehicle (EV) price war, Chinese companies seem to be in a race to launch faster charging technologies. Battery giant CATL, which supplies to US companies like Tesla and Ford, has unveiled a bunch of new products, including a battery that can add 520 km (323 miles) of driving range in only five minutes of charging time.
CATL Launches New Battery
It was among the three announcements that CATL made in Shanghai ahead of the auto show. The company also announced a new sodium-ion battery named Naxtra. Notably, while currently most batteries used in electric cars are lithium-ion, CATL started testing sodium-ion batteries in 2021. The new sodium ion batteries are scheduled to go into mass production in December, and if successfully commercialized, they could be a game changer and reduce the reliance on lithium, which is much scarcer than sodium.
Finally, CATL also unveiled a new dual-power battery, which it says can offer a range of 1,500km (932 miles) on a single charge. The stated range is much higher than what EV makers, including Tesla, are currently offering.
CATL Says Its Batteries Can Charge Faster Than BYD
Notably, CATL’s announcement comes days after Chinese EV giant BYD unveiled its “Super e-Platform” technology, which it says adds a range of 400 kilometers in only 5 minutes. Notably, the battery is a hardware component of an EV and is also the most expensive. Companies like NIO offer battery swapping and subscription services wherein the buyer can purchase the EV without the battery, which can then be bought on subscription.
Longer charging times, low range, and a lack of charging stations are among the reasons that hamper EV adoption rates. Notably, a well-entrenched EV charging network coupled with lower charging time helps address range anxiety, which is among the key reasons many people refrain from buying an electric car. Tesla, which is the largest EV seller in the US, has built a wide network of charging stations named Superchargers, which are its competitive advantage.
CATL Also Makes Batteries for Tesla
However, when it comes to fast charging, the Elon Musk-run company seems to be trailing Chinese companies. For instance, the most recent Tesla supercharger can add 270 kilometers of range in 15 minutes, which looks pale in front of what BYD and CATL have on offer. Mercedes-Benz recently announced that one of its batteries can add a 325-kilometer range in 10 minutes.
It remains to be seen whether CATL licenses the new batteries to US automakers. The US Defense Department added CATL to the list of Chinese military companies, which would make it tougher for US companies to do business with it. Moreover, there is an escalating trade and tech war between the world’s two largest economies, and the Trump administration has further tightened the restrictions on exports of high-end chips to the Communist country.
Chinese EV Companies Threaten Western Automakers
Chinese EV companies are threatening the dominance of Western automakers – not only in China but also globally. While Chinese EV companies are allegedly able to sell cars at low prices due to the alleged subsidies, some others believe that they are simply more efficient than automakers in other countries. On multiple occasions, Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has praised China’s manufacturing ecosystem and EV companies. Last year, during Tesla’s Q4 2023 earnings call, he said, “Frankly, I think if there are no trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other companies in the world.”
The new batteries from CATL are another shot in the arm for the Chinese EV industry, which is the world’s largest by a wide margin. New energy vehicle (NEV) penetration rates in China have spiked, and every second car sold in the country is either battery electric or hybrid.
Chinese Automakers Are Giving Self-Driving for Free
Moreover, some Chinese automakers are offering self-driving features in their cars, either for free or at very competitive prices. Earlier this year, BYD released an assisted driving system in partnership with DeepSeek, the Chinese startup that made waves with its low-cost artificial intelligence (AI) model.
The driving system, which is named “DiPilot,” would be offered free along with BYD cars. This would make BYD the only automaker offering assisted self-driving in cars priced below $10,000.
DeepSeek, anyway, created a storm with its low-cost AI model, which the company says it developed at a fraction of what Western rivals like OpenAI build their models for. Through the partnership with DeepSeek, BYD might be able to disrupt the EV industry as no other player offers advanced self-driving features at this price range.
Analysts believe that BYD offering assisted driving features in budget cars would help increase EV adoption in China, which is already the world’s biggest market for electric cars. In his note, Jefferies analyst Johnson Wan said, “BYD has now gone from 0 to 1 in [autonomous driving] development, which will accelerate the adoption rate of the function in the mass market and lead to a wave of upgrades by existing users.”
