BYD likely to supply batteries to Tesla

After the recent announcement that BYD is coming to New Zealand, the Chinese car maker now has its eyes set on becoming a battery supplier for Tesla.

“We are good friends with Elon Musk and we are preparing to sell batteries to Tesla,” said BYD executive vice president Lian Yu-bo in a Chinese state media interview.

Tesla currently sources its batteries from industry giant CATL and these are installed into new cars at their Shanghai gigafactory. Tesla also sources batteries from LG Energy Solutions and Panasonic.

BYD is currently the world’s largest manufacturer of fleet vehicles, including electric cars and plug-in hybrids, and has experience in supplying battery technology to companies like Toyota.

In 2020, BYD launched its Blade battery, a more compact lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack, claimed to be much safer than other alternatives in the event of structural damage. This style of battery is cheaper than nickel- and cobalt-based batteries that currently dominate those used in the West.

With Tesla already using LFP batteries in nearly half of its vehicles produced in the first quarter of 2022, the deal is highly attractive for both parties.

In supplying batteries to Tesla, BYD is sure to see even more dominance in a growing industry and it even has plans to become more directly involved with lithium mining. Lithium is the raw material used to produce most EV batteries.