Dongfeng Reportedly Seeks First Use of CATL Shenxing Battery

Dongfeng Motor has been negotiating with CATL since the second quarter of this year to become the first carmaker to use the battery maker's third-generation Shenxing battery, according to a report by China's 21st Century Business Herald. The report cites unnamed sources, and neither company has publicly confirmed the talks.

CATL unveiled the third-generation Shenxing at its technology day in Beijing on April 21. It is a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that CATL says supports an equivalent 10C charging rate, with peaks of 15C.

According to CATL, the battery charges from 10% to 80% in 3 minutes 44 seconds and from 10% to 98% in 6 minutes 27 seconds at room temperature. At minus 30 degrees Celsius, the company says a charge from 20% to 98% takes about 9 minutes. CATL also says the battery keeps more than 90% of its capacity after 1,000 complete cycles. These are CATL's own figures and have not yet been shown in a production car.

Gao Huan, chief technology officer of CATL's China car business, said in April that the battery was expected to reach vehicles in the fourth quarter of this year. The report notes that CATL has still not named a production car for the second-generation Shenxing, which was launched in April 2025.

The report says the two companies also plan to form a joint venture, through which Dongfeng wants more say over battery supply and pricing, along with supply guarantees. Market speculation had earlier centered on Chery, with reports that its Exeed brand would be among the first to use the battery. CATL has not officially responded to those reports.

The talks follow a group-level agreement the two companies signed on October 29, their third at that level. CATL said the deal covers joint development of next-generation fast-charging technology and a combined fast-charging and battery-swapping network. Dongfeng's Voyah, M-Hero, and Epicland brands are set to debut products based on that technology, rated at 10C or higher.

BYD already has a competing fast-charging battery on the road. Its second-generation Blade battery, launched in March, is rated to charge from 10% to 70% in 5 minutes and from 10% to 97% in about 9 minutes. It is used in production cars, including the second-generation Seagull, which starts at 65,900 yuan in China. Its fast-charging versions start at 75,900 yuan.

CATL remains China's largest battery supplier. Industry association data shows it installed 257.2 GWh of vehicle batteries in China in the first nine months of 2026, a 43.8% share and up 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier.