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With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, battery manufacturers have become the primary partners of more and more car companies to accelerate new energy plans, and the Ningde era, which plays a leading role in the global battery field, has undoubtedly become the goal of many car companies. A few days ago, Mercedes-Benz and Ningde Times jointly announced that the two sides will further strengthen cooperation in the field of battery technology.

According to the plan, in addition to jointly developing high-tech battery technology, Ningde Times will also become a leading supplier of Mercedes-Benz batteries to support the large-scale electrification of Mercedes-Benz models. Mercedes-Benz said: "Ningde Times will become a head supplier of Mercedes-Benz to ensure the battery supply of the next generation of EQ products in the next few years."

At present, the two sides have begun the research and development of the next generation of batteries, and the results of research and development will also be applied to the cooperative models launched by the two sides in the next few years. The EQS, a luxury all-electric sedan launched by Mercedes-Benz and announced that it will be delivered to customers next year, will be the first to be equipped with a Ningde-era battery module, with which the new model will have a range of more than 700km (WLTP standard) and charge twice as fast as existing models.

With regard to the latest agreement reached between the two sides, the strategic agreement covers all areas of power battery technology, including the provision of cells and modules for Mercedes-Benz passenger car products and an integrated battery package for its light business vehicle products. And the two sides set clear R & D goals, including shortening the R & D cycle, significantly increasing battery mileage by increasing battery energy density, and reducing charging time.

In addition, the agreement also includes the CTP (Moduleless Battery Pack) design provided by Ningde Times for some projects, which omits the traditional battery module and integrates the battery directly into the battery package. This will also make the battery pack of electric vehicles much lighter than traditional batteries.

In fact, in early July, Mercedes-Benz announced that it would deepen its strategic cooperation with Funeng Technology (Ganzhou) Co., Ltd., a Chinese maker of power battery batteries, and take a stake in Funeng Technology, which will hold about 3% of Funeng Technology. It is to further tap the potential of cooperation with China's high-tech partners to support the promotion of electrification strategy around the world. The announcement of cooperation with the Ningde era a month later shows the urgency of Mercedes-Benz in the field of new energy.

According to Mercedes-Benz's new energy plan, five pure electric passenger cars and 20 plug-in hybrid models will be put on the market by the end of 2020. Last year, Daimler also proposed to wear "Vision 2039", under which Daimler will convert all passenger cars into carbon-neutral products by 2039, Mercedes-Benz will stop selling traditional internal combustion engine passenger cars by 2039, and new energy models account for 50 per cent of passenger car sales by 2030. The plan is moving forward faster than BMW.

It has to be said that the power battery business has been growing by leaps and bounds since 2020 in the Ningde era, and has been favored by multinational car companies such as Tesla, Honda and Toyota. In addition, Ningde era also signed supporting supply agreements with Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo and other car companies, and batteries are likely to be used in Ford mass-produced electric vehicles in the future.

Under the signing of a number of supply agreements, Ningde era increased early investment. It has agreed to expand its investment in European production and R & D base projects. This includes the production of EQS batteries at a new plant in Thuringia, Germany, with a capacity of 14GWh and an investment of 4 billion euros, which will further increase the local procurement rate of the supply chain.

Data show that Ningde era was founded in 2011, headquartered in Ningde, Fujian Province. The company focuses on the research, development, production and sales of power battery systems and energy storage systems for new energy vehicles, and is committed to providing solutions for new energy applications around the world.

Among the power battery installations in China in 2019, Ningde era power battery installed capacity reached 31.71GWh, accounting for 51% of the market share, making it the largest power battery supplier in China.

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