Sunwoda Invests $1.9B in Power Battery Project in Zhuhai

Sunwoda, a leading developer of lithium-ion battery modules based in Shenzhen, China, announced that its subsidiary Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery Co., Ltd. (Sunwoda EVB) plans to invest in the construction of a 30GWh power battery production facility in the nearby city of Zhuhai. The project is to be supported by a planned total investment of about 12 billion yuan ($1.9 billion). Sunwoda EVB has also signed a project investment agreement with the Zhuhai Municipal Government.

The announcement shows that the city’s authorities regard the power battery industry as a key driver of local development, providing favorable policies and support services for the Sunwoda production project. Zhuhai also plans to provide about 800 mu (around 131 acres) of land for the projects. Sunwoda will set up a company in Zhuhai with a registered capital of 3 billion yuan.

In addition, the firm announced that Sunwoda EVB has received an order from domestic automaking giant SAIC Motor, and will supply power battery products for the “ZS12MCE HEV” project. According to the company’s 2021 semi-annual report, its battery products were applied to 15 new car models in the first half of 2021. Moreover, the company has received orders from a range of carmakers, supplying products for models including Dongfeng Liuqi Lingzhi CM5EV, Dongfeng E70, GAC Motor A9E, SAIC-GM-Wuling Hongguang MINI, Geely PMA and  GHS2.0 platforms.

Sunwoda EVB has just completed a financing round. It announced on February 24 that 19 investors, including Tianjin Hexiehaihe Investment, Chehejia, SkyTop, Weirui Investment and Xunxing Investment (Chongqing), spent a total of 2.43 billion yuan and acquired about 19.5% equity of the firm.

According to data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance, the market share of power batteries held by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) remained at more than half. In 2021, the loading capacity of Sunwoda was 2.06 GWh, with a market share of 1.3%. In January this year, its loading capacity was 0.23 GWh, the market share had increased to 1.41%, and the firm’s ranking in domestic market also increased from 10th to 8th.

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In response to upcoming market competition, Sunwoda is preparing to substantially expand its production.

In August 2021, Sunwoda announced that it planned to invest 20 billion yuan to build a 50GWh power battery production base project in the city of Nanchang, Jiangxi province. In December, another 20 billion yuan was poured into a 30GWh power battery and energy storage battery production line project in the city of Zaozhuang Shandong province.

In addition, Sunwoda operates 4GWh and 30GWh production bases in the cities of Huizhou, Guangdong province and Nanjing, Jiangsu province respectively. With the 30GWh project currently receiving investment, it is estimated that Sunwoda’s overall production capacity will reach 144GWh in 2025.