SMM News: following Volkswagen's stake in Guoxuan Hi-Tech, another top global auto company-Daimler (Daimler) strategy invests in Funeng Technology and participates in its Kechuang board IPO. Chinese battery manufacturers are increasingly becoming popular among global front-line car companies, demonstrating the rising strength of China's new energy vehicle industry chain.

Daimler Greater China Investment Co., Ltd. (Daimler Greater China) appeared on the list of strategic investors on the evening of July 2, when Funeng Technology announced its initial public offering and listing on the Kovac board. Its contribution is 904.5 million yuan, and it will hold about 3% of Funeng Technology in the future. Daimler Greater China is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz. Daimler Greater China is actually controlled by (DaimlerAG) of Daimler AG.

Then, on July 3, Daimler officially announced that Mercedes-Benz had established a far-reaching strategic partnership with Funeng Technology and bought a stake in Funeng Technology.

"Daimler Greater China's strategic investment in IPO and the long-standing supply partnership between the two sides demonstrate the importance of Funeng's leading battery technology strength and global role." Wang Wei, chairman and president of Funeng Technology, said, "We look forward to further and deep cooperation with Mercedes-Benz to provide sustainable battery supply for its excellent products, thereby supporting its electrification strategy."

It is understood that after the strategic investment, Daimler has the opportunity to nominate a representative on the supervisory board of Funeng Technology. Marcus Schaefer, Daimler's board member in charge of group research and development and Mercedes-Benz's board member and chief operating officer, may take up the post in 12 months, which is also subject to regulatory approval and the voting process.

"China is the world's largest market for new energy vehicles and has great potential for development," said Tang Shikai (Hubertus Troska), a board member of Daimler AG and in charge of Greater China. By taking a stake in China's power battery manufacturer for the first time, we will further tap the potential of cooperation with China's high-tech partners to support our global electrification strategy. In the future, we will further strengthen local R & D, production and procurement in China. "

It is worth noting that in addition to the strategic stake, Daimler mentioned in its official statement on July 3 that Funeng Technology and Daimler Greater China had also signed a comprehensive business cooperation agreement. Daimler said that the cooperation between the two sides is also another important milestone in Mercedes-Benz's commitment to achieving its "Vision 2039" goal of carbon neutrality.

The key elements of the strategic cooperation agreement between the two sides include the research and development and commercialization of advanced high energy density batteries and achieving the goal of cost competitiveness, and the technical focus includes a significant increase in driving mileage by increasing energy density and shortening charging time. The agreement will guarantee Mercedes-Benz's supply of power battery cells in the electrification strategy, while Funeng can ensure its planned capacity construction.

According to reports, the cooperation between Funeng Technology and Mercedes-Benz will not be limited to China. In order to meet the growing demand of Mercedes-Benz's German plant, Funeng Technology will build a battery factory in Bitfield-Bitterfeld-Wolfen in eastern Germany, which will be designed as a carbon-neutral plant from the beginning.

Strategic investment and long-term strategic cooperation show that Daimler attaches great importance to Funeng Technology. In fact, the cooperation between the two sides has a long history. At the end of 2018, Funeng Technology signed a 10-year order agreement with Daimler that will accumulate more than 170GWh, confirming the long-term cooperative relationship between the two sides. It can be predicted that Funeng Technology will become a very important power battery supplier to Daimler in the future. In September 2019, Daimler AG announced through its website to establish a sustainable partnership with Funeng Technology.

From the perspective of market applications, soft-pack batteries are favored by mainstream car companies around the world. At present, soft package powered lithium ion batteries are still dominant in the international PHEV/EV market, no matter Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Volvo, or General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, a large number of PHEV/EV still use soft package powered lithium ion batteries.

At present, Funeng Technology has become one of the leading companies in the world of three-yuan soft package power batteries. Its ternary soft package power battery has excellent performance, with high energy density, good safety performance, long cycle life, fast charging speed, strong temperature adaptability and other advantages, the company has begun mass production of energy density 285Wh/kg battery products, applied to the system level is expected to break through the Pack energy density 200Whshock kg, product performance is in the leading level in the global industry.

"the main advantage of Funeng Technology is that we are involved in global development and have long experience in developing and industrializing high-energy lithium-ion batteries. This strategic investment enables us to further strengthen our cooperation with Mercedes-Benz to meet the needs of future global customers and promote the rapid growth of the pure electric vehicle market." Keith Kepler, co-founder and chief technology officer of Funeng Technology, commented

Marcus Schaefer, Board member and Chief operating Officer of Mercedes-Benz AG, who is responsible for group research and development of Daimler AG, said: "We are very pleased to take a key step in implementing Mercedes-Benz's' electric first 'strategy to further expand cooperation with Funeng Technology. By expanding our business relationship at the strategic level, we are accelerating the electrification of our product lineup. "

In less than two months, Chinese battery companies such as Volkswagen and Daimler have invested strategically in Chinese battery enterprises, which is not accidental. It is not difficult to imagine that this phenomenon will become more and more common with the growing growth of the new energy vehicle industry "China system".

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