Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) has secured a three-year contract as the preferred supplier of Dongfeng Motor Group’s electric off-road vehicle subsidiary, as the battery giant fights to keep market share in the competitive Chinese market, reports Caixin. CATL will supply the M Hero brand with its power cell products and related services until 2026. The companies will also jointly develop new types of batteries and explore the application of ultra-fast charging batteries, according to a CATL statement Thursday.
As part of the deal, the luxury M-Hero 917 SUV, the brand’s sole model, will be emblazoned with “CATL Inside,” the first car to bear this insignia, the statement said.
“CATL Inside” is similar to Huawei Technologies’s Huawei Inside (HI) business model, in which vehicles running the tech giant’s smart driving systems add HI to their model names.