Lithium Battery Industry Chain Giants Set Eyes on Southeast Asia to Navigate Competitive Landscape

In recent years, against the backdrop of profound changes in the global new energy industry landscape, Chinese lithium battery industry chain companies have faced dual challenges. On one hand, domestic market competition has intensified, with periodic supply-demand mismatches becoming prominent. On the other hand, international market demand has surged, and localization requirements have grown increasingly stringent.

Under these circumstances, "going global" has evolved from a developmental option to a strategic necessity for survival. Currently, led by top producers, Chinese lithium battery industry chain companies are collectively accelerating their expansion into Southeast Asia. Multiple firms are advancing localized production layouts in the region through measures such as factory construction.

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Three Lithium Battery Giants Accelerate Southeast Asia Expansion

By late June this year, within just three days, three major lithium battery projects reported updates.

On June 27, EVE announced plans to invest up to 8.654 billion yuan using its own funds, proceeds from stock issuance, or self-raised capital for its new-type ESS battery project in Malaysia.

EVE's Malaysian facility is positioned as a multi-scenario lithium battery production site covering Asia and radiating globally. Regarding the strategic intent of this investment, EVE stated that the project would facilitate overseas business expansion by increasing production capacity at overseas sites to meet growing global ESS demand. Particularly amid escalating international trade friction, overseas layouts could mitigate risks, support order growth, and enable capacity expansion, bolstering its global leadership strategy.

On June 28, Shenzhen Senior Technology Material's ASEAN production base (Phase I) in Malaysia commenced operations.

With a total investment of nearly 5 billion yuan, the project will become a "super factory" with an annual output of 2 billion m² of wet-process and coated separators. Its targets include not only lithium-ion battery separators but also rigid frameworks for solid-state batteries.

The company revealed that the factory secured substantial order intentions during its construction phase, with initial production capacity facing undersupply upon launch. This reflects strong market demand driven by battery producers' capacity expansion in Southeast Asia.

On June 29, CATL's joint venture factory project in Indonesia commenced construction.

The project involves a total investment of approximately $6 billion, covering the entire industry chain of EV battery production, from laterite nickel ore mining, pyrometallurgy, and hydrometallurgy to battery materials, battery recycling, and battery manufacturing. It is reported that the annual battery production capacity of this project will support the battery demand for 300,000 EVs.

With this, the three giants of China's lithium battery industry chain have completed a remarkable "triple strike" in Southeast Asia. These three major projects serve as strategic moves, positioning themselves in the ESS market, critical materials, and nickel ore resources—three key high grounds.

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Chinese Lithium Battery Industry Chain Companies "Go Global" Together

In fact, apart from CATL and EVE, in the battery manufacturing sector, domestic battery companies such as Gotion High-tech, Sunwoda, REPT Battero, SVOLT Energy Technology, CosMX Battery, Highpower Technology, Highstar, Shuangdeng Group and Tenpower have already established production sites in Southeast Asia.

For example, SVOLT Energy's Thailand factory focuses on short-blade battery technology and saw its 10,000th EV battery pack roll off the production line by the end of June this year. REPT Battero chose Indonesia for its first overseas battery factory, with the first phase expected to achieve an annual production capacity of 8GWh for power and ESS batteries, as well as systems and battery components. Gotion High-tech's Vietnam base has already reached an annual capacity of 5GWh, with long-term plans to expand to 20GWh.

In the lithium battery materials and parts segment, apart from Shenzhen Senior Technology Material, companies like SEMCORP, Huayou Cobalt, Capchem, Shangtai Technology, GEM, Lopal, and others have been enhancing their production capacity support systems in Southeast Asia, covering multiple upstream segments of the industry chain, from cathode materials, anode materials, electrolyte, and separator to structural components.

It is understood that with the above material-related capacities expected to enter production phases in 2026 and 2027, the four core materials for lithium batteries will all achieve localized production in Southeast Asia.

Additionally, in the vehicle sector, Changan Automobile's first overseas new energy vehicle production site—the Rayong factory in Thailand—began operations in May this year. The factory, with a total investment of approximately 10 billion baht (around 2.16 billion yuan), has an existing capacity of 100,000 units annually, with plans to gradually expand to 200,000 units. BYD also aims to complete the construction of its $1 billion Indonesia factory by the end of 2025. Furthermore, Great Wall Motor, SAIC, and GAC Aion have also established or expanded production sites in Thailand.

Chinese enterprises in the lithium battery industry chain have joined forces to "go global" in Southeast Asia, driven by multiple factors. Industry analysts believe that the region boasts abundant mineral resources. For instance, Indonesia accounts for 22% of the world's nickel reserves, providing a solid resource foundation for the development of the lithium battery industry. Meanwhile, the relatively low labor costs in Southeast Asia offer certain cost advantages.

The strengths of Chinese enterprises in technology, products, and costs complement the resource, market, and policy advantages of Southeast Asia. This strategic layout also serves as a response to global trade changes, a means to seize emerging markets, and an approach to optimize resource allocation.

However, it is important to note that US President Trump has continued to wield the "tariff" stick. Recently, he has successively released letters addressed to leaders of multiple countries, stating that he will impose tariffs ranging from 25% to 40% on these countries starting from August 1st. This includes some Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines.

This policy trend may pose a risk of partial ineffectiveness to the "detour to go global" strategy previously pursued by Chinese enterprises in the lithium battery industry chain, which aimed to use the Southeast Asian market as a stepping stone to reach broader overseas markets such as North America. As for how things will unfold subsequently, further observation is needed.

Please note that this news is sourced from http://www.cbea.com/djgc/202507/530488.html and translated by SMM.