GM Find Solutions Reduce Dependence On Battery Imports, Collaborating With Chinese Battery Giant CATL

Corvette Z06 GT3R production facility. (Doc. General Motors)

JAKARTA - Competition in the electric car (EV) is getting fiercer. After Ford announced earlier last year in collaboration with CATL, a battery giant from China, now it's General Motors (GM)'s turn to negotiate to secure battery technology from the company.

Reportedly, according to Reuters, Friday, September 13, GM plans to buy EV batteries that use CATL technology, but are assembled in a new factory to be built in the United States.

The move is clearly inspired by their city rival Ford Motor, which has planned to use CATL technology to produce low-cost lithium-iron batteries at their Michigan plant.

However, Ford's plan has drawn controversy. Senator Marco Rubio, Deputy Chairman of the United States Intelligence Committee, is concerned about dependence on Chinese technology in sensitive sectors such as electric car batteries.

GM's strategy seems to be trying to overcome these concerns. According to a Bloomberg News report, the new plant will be funded and operated by Japanese electronics company TDK Corp. In addition, its location is predicted to be in the southern region of the United States and will create more than 1,000 jobs.

Negotiations between GM and CATL are still ongoing and no final agreement has yet been reached. However, this deal has the potential to help GM produce batteries at lower costs and avoid new tariffs from the United States government.

"Our EV strategy focuses on designing products that continue to lower costs, improve performance, and localize production. Battery technology is the main driver of such strategies. We will not comment on speculation," said GM.

The electric car race forced car manufacturers to spend tens of billions of dollars in capital to build new EVs and batteries. They are competing fiercely to bring vehicles that are more environmentally friendly in order to meet increasingly stringent emission regulations.

If the GM and CATL deals are reached, it is predicted that other car manufacturers will soon follow their lead to cut production costs.