Mercedes-Benz may just use Chinese language battery provider BYD’s Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in long term Chinese language-market EVs, in line with a brand new document.

The supply here’s Chinese language e-newsletter CBEA, which on Friday reported that Mercedes will get started manufacturing of EVs with BYD batteries in 2025, bringing up an nameless authentic of the automaker.

As famous through CarNewsChina, CBEA is an authentic mag of the China Car Battery Analysis Institute (CABRI), a government-funded group that counts Chinese language automakers SAIC, GAC, Dongfeng, and Changan, in addition to battery company CATL, as shareholders. That appears to be a devoted supply, even supposing no longer even Mercedes representatives in China would publicly remark at the document.

BYD Blade battery pack

Mercedes has some historical past with BYD, CarNewsChina notes. The automaker in 2010 introduced the Chinese language-market Denza emblem with BYD as a 50:50 three way partnership. Mercedes in large part pulled out of Denza in 2021, maintaining only a 10% stake, with BYD proceeding to function it as one in every of its personal manufacturers.

BYD printed the Blade battery in early 2020. It is the newest of a number of generations of LFP packs from the corporate and claimed to be an important step ahead in protection whilst gaining power density—although protection incidents for LFP packs have been already extraordinarily uncommon.

This will be the first use of LFP chemistry in a manufacturing Mercedes. LFP batteries normally don’t seem to be used a lot out of doors the Chinese language marketplace, however that is been converting, with Ford and Tesla now promoting some LFP-equipped EVs within the U.S. BYD already has a provide settlement with Tesla for Europe.

Mercedes-Benz Idea CLA-Magnificence

Mercedes this weekend confirmed the Idea CLA-Magnificence, previewing the primary compact EV according to the automaker’s new MMA platform. The manufacturing model will arrive in the similar time-frame that the document claims Mercedes will start the usage of BYD batteries. Battery chemistry wasn’t mentioned on the unveiling, however Mercedes mentioned MMA cars will use a slightly small pack and depend on higher potency to reach enough vary.

So that you could simplify Mercedes has even thought to be air-cooling for EV batteries. It was once all a part of the frenzy for potency and escaping the load spiral in its Imaginative and prescient EQXX idea for the platform itself.