CATL to Enter the Automotive Industry?

Recently, battery giant CATL launched a new skateboard platform product named "Rock Solid," sparking widespread discussion.

Some netizens believe that CATL is on a roll, ready to move up the automotive value chain at any time.In fact, CATL's venture into chassis manufacturing is still a strategic plan rooted in its power battery origins.

"Ning King" won't manufacture cars; instead, it aims to redefine the undercarriage in the electric vehicle era, shift the center of undercarriage design, and assist automakers in "building better" cars.

Consumers who have learned about the product exclaimed, "Now, even car manufacturing can be prefabricated!"

CATL officially launches skateboard chassis

CATL introduces a new product named "Rock Base Chassis," which differs from traditional chassis as it belongs to the "Skateboard Chassis" category.

The skateboard chassis integrates suspension, steering, braking, and other components with the three electrical systems, including batteries, electrical controls, and electric drives, all on the chassis. This achieves decoupling of the upper and lower bodies, allowing for independent driving. Simply attach a steering wheel, and you can conquer the desert.

The skateboard chassis has achieved CTC (Cell To Chassis) on the basis of CTP (Cell To Pack), directly integrating the battery cells into the chassis for enhanced safety.

Ningde demonstrates that the solid-plate undercarriage can absorb 85% of the vehicle's collision energy. It can cut off the high-voltage circuit within 0.01 seconds of a collision, preventing short circuits that could lead to fires and explosions. Additionally, it releases the remaining high-voltage electrical energy before the airbags deploy, reducing the risk of high-voltage electric shock.

CATL conducted a 120km/h frontal pillar impact test, equipped with fully charged batteries, without explosion or fire.

Additionally, the integrated battery pack on the chassis eliminates excess components, reducing the "common area," allowing for more battery cells to be accommodated within the same space, thereby extending the vehicle's overall range.

CATL has revealed that with the use of CTC technology, the driving range of vehicles equipped with lithium iron phosphate batteries is expected to reach up to 1,000 km.

The CTC will also make the undercarriage thinner, allowing for more space in the passenger compartment compared to the previous battery pack integration.

The skateboard chassis not only offers users safety and more space, but also enables automakers to develop new vehicles faster and more cost-effectively.

Due to the decoupling of the upper and lower bodies.Automakers need to focus solely on the body development, leaving the skateboard chassis to take care of the rest, which can significantly shorten the development cycle.

Just like making Tomato Egg Noodles at home, it used to be "handmade noodles," where you grab both the noodles and the side dishes.

Now, you can buy noodles directly on the street, allowing you to focus solely on stir-frying, thereby shortening cooking time.

How short is it?

CATL anticipates that the vehicle development cycle can be significantly reduced to between 12 to 18 months.

Additionally, as more OEMs develop vehicle models using the Rock Solid Chassis, the chassis can enable collaboration and shared resources among multiple car manufacturers, thereby distributing the chassis development costs and making it more cost-effective for the OEMs to build cars.

Still using the analogy of making noodles, it used to be that if you wanted noodles, you had to make the dough, roll it out, and then cut it into strips. Now, you just go to the store, buy noodles, and come home. It saves time and effort, as long as you know how to cook them.

So, the skateboard chassis essentially knocks down the financial and technical barriers of car manufacturing.

These are the primary features of the StoneBase undercarriage. Although recently launched, CATL has been strategically planning for this product for quite some time.

In April 2024, the Beijing Auto Show showcased the vehicle, securing partnerships with domestic and international automakers such as BAIC, JAC, AITO, and VinFast.

At the beginning of this year, CATL delivered a speech, discussing the comprehensive considerations behind the move of the battery industry leader to produce chassis.

Battery Manufacturer's Move into Chassis Production: Why the Shift?

As early as 2021, CATL established a research and development center for skateboard undercarriages in Lingang, Shanghai.

CATL builds the underbody based on the judgment of the electric vehicle wave.

In宁德时代's view, most electric vehicle chassis on the market today are not true electric vehicle chassis; instead, they are modified from traditional internal combustion engine chassis.

The development of pure electric vehicles is still following the traditional architecture, which centers around the white body. First, a mechanical frame is constructed, and then various suppliers fill in the blanks, such as allocating a specific area of the chassis to the battery manufacturer for battery placement.

Battery, electric drive, and electric control systems are designed within the boundaries set by the main manufacturers, which, according to CATL, fails to fully leverage the advantages of the "three electrics."

So, CATL has determined that in the electric vehicle era, the design focus of the undercarriage should shift from the body-in-white to the battery.

"Build Around Battery" - Create a chassis architecture centered around the battery, decouple the upper and lower bodies; you develop yours, I develop mine, and we all iterate independently. Just like the underlying chip of your smartphone remains constant, but the operating system can be continually updated.

CATL's development of the skateboard chassis is also based on the concept of "software-defined vehicles," making the chassis fully transparent to the body. It hands over operating data, control data, and software control to the body and the cloud, with the main manufacturer and CATL collaborating in joint processing.

In reality, the skateboard platform track boasts a plethora of players, including industry leaders like CATL, as well as entrepreneurial ventures like Gecko Technology and U-RUN Technology. Some automakers, like BAIC, are also independently developing skateboard platforms.

Therefore, CATL stated at the new product launch that this move "activates a trillion-dollar market."

But some analysts believe that the unified skateboard chassis not only streamlines the body but also further deepens the binding between OEMs and suppliers, limiting the flexibility of vehicle manufacturers in development. It is more suitable for car companies with limited funds to quickly produce finished products.

What do you think?