CATL is pushing further into overseas commercial-vehicle batteries with a new partnership in North Africa. The Chinese cell giant said Wednesday that it has reached a technology cooperation deal with Egyptian battery maker BME, covering pack technology licensing, production equipment, and training to enable local assembly.
BME, a company co-founded by Egyptian commercial vehicle manufacturer MCV and automotive solutions provider Auto D, will finance and construct the plant on its own. Initial planned capacity is 1 GWh per year, dedicated mainly to heavy commercial vehicle packs, and long-term plans could lift that to 5 GWh while broadening the lineup to passenger-car packs and energy storage for solar and wind applications. Once running, BME intends to sell directly to local carmakers, addressing a shortfall in Egypt's domestic pack manufacturing.
Neither the investment amount nor a production timeline was disclosed, and the agreement covers pack assembly only, with no local cell production mentioned. The deal comes shortly after CATL unveiled its Tectrans II commercial vehicle battery at the IAA Transportation show in Hanover, where the top-spec truck variant delivers up to 1,000 km of range, and after the company signed an MOU with DHL Group on green freight corridors in Europe.
CATL's lead in the global battery market remains unchallenged. According to SNE Research, its installations totaled 289.6 GWh in the first seven months of 2026, up 26.6% year on year, for a 39.9% share.