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CATL’s 1,000-Kilometer Range EV Battery Picked by Li Auto, Hozon

  • Chinese battery maker CATL will also supply South Korea’s Kia
  • Mass production of ‘Qilin’ battery is due to start in 2023
A Li One electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) on display at a Li Auto Inc. showroom in Shanghai

A Li One electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) on display at a Li Auto Inc. showroom in Shanghai

Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Chinese electric vehicle startups Li Auto Inc. and Hozon New Energy Automobile Co. emerged as the first customers of a new long-range battery that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. unveiled Thursday and plans to start mass producing in 2023. 

The “Qilin” battery has a range of more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) on one charge, energy density of up to 255 watt-hour per kilogram, and is safer and more durable than existing cells, according to CATL, as the world’s biggest maker of EV batteries is known. It is also 13% more powerful than one planned by Tesla Inc., a major customer of Fujian-based CATL.