Ford EV Battery Supplier CATL Won’t Be Derailed By Tariffs

Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) is not only one of the largest battery manufacturers on the planet, but it also recently signed a deal with Ford to license its lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) technology to the automaker, which will enable it to build LFP units at the future BlueOval Battery Park Michigan site. However, there’s just one big problem – that relationship has long been under fire due to the fact that CATL is based out of China, which has conjured up plenty of questions as of late, including whether or not it will be derailed by increased tariffs. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Back in May, the Biden Administration raised U.S. tariffs on Chinese EVs and various raw materials by a considerable margin, leaving many to wonder just how that might impact the automotive industry and companies based in that part of the world. At least as it pertains to CATL, the answer is apparently not much, according to Automotive News. “CATL looks like it will continue to maintain pole position in the EV battery space,” explained Amod Kumar, associate director of electrification technology research at S&P Global Mobility.

Along with the Inflation Reduction Act that seeks to reduce America’s dependency on Chinese-based raw materials – which is also true of higher tariffs – a group of lawmakers also recently asked the Biden Administration to add CATL to its import ban list over claims that it uses forced labor – allegations the company has denied. However, analysts still see growth potential for the company in the U.S. for at least the next three years, and much further down the road in Europe, even if tariffs are imposed there as well. “They could still continue to have market share,” Kumar said, “because CATL has such a huge cost advantage with battery cells that even with tariffs, they can still have partnerships with OEMs.”

As such, CATL may look to license its LFP battery tech to other companies besides Ford. Currently, The Blue Oval already utilizes that company’s LFP battery in the standard range versions of the Ford Mustang Mach-E following a swap back in the 2023 model year, too.

We’ll have more on CATL soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.