China’s competition regulator has approved plans for CATL and Geely subsidiary Zeekr’s battery joint venture to acquire Chongqing Yaoning New Energy Technology (Yaoning), which is building an 18GWh-a-year battery plant in Chongqing. Yaoning is presently wholly owned by Geely.
The State Administration for Market Regulation approved the Yaoning equity acquisition without conditions on 3 September, publishing its decision on 11 September. Its notice names CATL and Zeekr Automobile (Shanghai) as the participating companies but does not disclose the purchase price, stake size or transaction completion date.
Although the regulator lists the case under CATL’s name, Chinese newspaper National Business Daily subsequently reported that the buyer is the partners’ existing battery joint venture, citing a person familiar with the transaction.
The report said the deal would bring unfinished battery manufacturing assets into the joint venture to accelerate production capacity and meet demand from forthcoming vehicles.
Chongqing’s Development and Reform Commission issued an energy-efficiency review for Yaoning’s 18GWh-a-year project in May 2025. It identifies the planned products as lithium-ion traction batteries and battery packs and gives a construction completion date of December 2026. That document sets out the project schedule; it does not confirm that commercial production has begun.
Geely has also rejected suggestions that the transaction signals a retreat from developing its own batteries.
Speaking to The Beijing News on 16 September, Geely described the transaction as an adjustment within its existing joint-venture arrangements with CATL. It said in-house battery development would remain central to its strategy, supplemented by joint ventures and purchases from external suppliers to maintain supply security.
