IM Motors to use CATL batteries across LS8 NEO range as automakers weigh in-house cell work

The LS8 NEO, a battery-electric SUV aimed at the roughly 250,000 yuan segment, will offer two packs: a 93 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate unit and a 103 kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese unit. The larger pack delivers a CLTC range of 752 km, according to figures presented to reporters. The LFP version uses CATL's new battery management system, which the supplier says holds state-of-charge estimation error to about 3%, addressing a known weakness of LFP chemistry, whose flat voltage curve makes remaining charge harder to gauge, especially at low temperatures and low charge.

Cells for both packs come from CATL plants in Ningde and Jiangsu, while pack assembly is split between CATL and SAIC-CATL, one of two joint ventures the companies set up in 2017, the other covering cells. Batteries sold under the CATL name can therefore be built by different legal entities.

Access to the site was tightly controlled, according to QbitAI's account of the visit: camera serial numbers had to be registered in advance, and visitors collected badges at a reception center before entering a technology building designed around a prismatic-cell shape and built to hold more than 5,000 office staff. CATL, founded in 2011, has led global installed battery capacity since 2017 and held a 39.2% share in 2025, roughly one in every three electric vehicles sold worldwide. It employs more than 230,000 people globally, including over 50,000 in Ningde.

The showroom displayed cells spanning lithium iron phosphate, nickel-cobalt-manganese, sodium-ion and condensed-matter chemistries. A sodium-ion cell sat in a transparent chamber chilled below minus 30 degrees Celsius, ringed by ice; CATL is also testing combinations of sodium-ion with other chemistries to improve cold-weather performance. The condensed-matter cell on show has an energy density of 500 Wh/kg. Immersion tests described by guides involve soaking packs for 30 minutes, 24 hours or 48 hours, with no water permitted inside the casing.

The adjacent cell plant ran largely on automated equipment, with few workers visible along the designated viewing route, and staff dress varied by the humidity, static and dust controls required in different areas. CATL says its most advanced line can produce one cell per second and applies more than 7,000 quality control checks, using AI vision inspection among other methods, with a target defect rate at the parts-per-billion level. The company also takes part in designing production equipment with its suppliers.

Cell production is only part of the work. Packs must be designed to each automaker's requirements, tested in winter and summer and across road conditions, and matched to the vehicle's powertrain and thermal management. Battery capacity affects weight and cost, which in turn shape energy consumption, chassis design and handling, so pack layout has to be settled early in vehicle development alongside systems such as IM's Lingxi chassis, which pairs steer-by-wire with rear-wheel steering of up to 24 degrees and a minimum turning radius of about 4.85 meters.

The division of labour has become a live question as Chinese carmakers adjust battery supply. Li Auto invested 2.65 billion yuan in Sunwoda's power battery unit, Xiaomi is developing batteries with CALB and others, and further automakers are adding second suppliers or expanding in-house programmes. CATL responded publicly that carmakers know how to build cars but not necessarily batteries, and that specialists should handle specialised work, QbitAI reported. SAIC, for its part, keeps the CATL joint ventures while also investing in Qingtao Energy for solid-state batteries and developing its own battery management and vehicle integration work.