The battery pack, which is expected to be available in volume in the first quarter of 2024, will first be fitted to the Good Cat model of Great Wall Motor’s Ora brand.
(Image credit: Svolt Energy)
Svolt Energy, a battery maker that became independent from Great Wall Motor, today saw its first battery pack roll off the production line at its Thailand plant, becoming the latest Chinese battery maker to achieve this milestone after Gotion High-tech.
The pack is Svolt Energy’s LCTP battery pack with a capacity of 60 kWh, providing a CLTC range of up to 500 kilometers, it said.
The pack is based on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry and utilizes Svolt Energy’s L600 series cells, which meets the mainstream battery demand for A-class vehicles in the Thai market, the company said.
Svolt Energy’s first battery pack produced in Thailand is expected to be available in volume in the first quarter of 2024, and will first be fitted to the Thai version of the Good Cat model of Great Wall Motor’s new energy vehicle (NEV) brand Ora.
After the pack is mass-produced in February next year, Svolt Energy will also expand into the light-duty power and energy storage markets in Southeast Asia, it said.
Svolt Energy’s Thailand plant, a joint venture between the company’s local subsidiary and Thailand’s Banpu Next, focuses on power batteries, 2-3 wheeler batteries, energy storage, and battery recycling.
The plant, located in Sriracha Chonburi, began construction in July and is based on the renovation and upgrading of a locally leased facility.
The plant, which is expected to have a capacity of 60,000 modules and packs per year, will have two production lines, one for the production of HEV, PHEV, and BEV modules and the other for the assembly of battery packs, according to a statement from Svolt Energy in July.
Svolt Energy was originally Great Wall Motor’s power battery division, which began power cell research and development in 2012.
It became independent from Great Wall Motor in February 2018 and works on next-generation battery materials, cells, modules, packs, BMS, and energy storage technologies.
Svolt Energy is one of the largest battery makers in China, with 1.39 GWh of batteries loaded in November, ranking 7th in the country with a 3.09 percent share, according to China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).
On December 7, Gotion said its joint venture in Thailand, NV Gotion Co Ltd, saw its first battery pack roll off the production line, the first locally produced battery pack in Thailand.
The pack is based on LFP chemistry and has a capacity of 38 kWh, allowing the vehicle to get a range of 400 kilometers, Gotion said at the time.
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