Chinese automaker and battery supplier BYD is entering the European market—and that could include supplying batteries to Tesla.
Earlier this month, Sweden’s Hedin Mobility Group announced that it would distribute and sell BYD passenger cars in its home country and Germany. This came shortly after BYD’s announcement of Japanese-market sales in July.
Sales are scheduled to start through Hedin Mobility Group’s existing dealer network in October. The company also plans to open dedicated BYD stores in major cities, with the first scheduled to open in Stockholm that same month.
BYD Blade battery pack
BYD is one of the highest-volume manufacturers of plug-in cars, and makes electric buses and trucks as well. It doesn’t sell passenger cars in the United States, but has sold and manufactured electric buses here.
CNEVPost also recently reported that BYD had begun deliveries of its Blade batteries to Tesla for vehicle production at the latter’s German factory. The first Tesla EVs using BYD batteries should roll off the assembly line sometime between late August and early September, according to the report.
Tesla plant near Berlin, Germany
This isn’t the first time Tesla was reportedly considering the Blade, which has a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry that’s said to emphasize safety while also doing quite well in cold temperatures compared to other LFP cells.
Tesla has been using LFP battery cells in cars built at its Shanghai factory, although it has no plans to use BYD’s batteries at that factory, according to the report. Some cars built in the U.S. are also getting LFP batteries, which provide the benefit of charging to 100% on a daily basis, but at the expense of efficiency.
LFP has become the popular and prevalent battery type in China, with companies there aiming for a next-generation version of the chemistry.