Rumors of Improved CATL Batteries in Tesla China Model 3

Tesla’s made in China Model 3 will use CATL’s new M3P lithium iron phosphate battery, with the base model battery pack capacity upgraded from 60 kWh to 66 kWh, according to 36kr.

Tesla has upgraded the battery pack with previous major improvements to the Model 3. The standard range version of the China-made Model 3 was upgraded from 55 kWh to 60 kWh.

There have been reports that a new version of the Tesla Model 3 will be slightly longer, sportier and have an improved interior design.

CATL will begin supplying M3P batteries to Tesla in the fourth quarter, and will put them in Model Y using 72 kWh packs, local media outlet LatePost reported on August 3, 2022.

The lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) material used in CATL’s M3P battery will be supplied by Shenzhen Dynanonic Co, which had plans to put 110,000 tons of LMFP material into production in the second half of 2022, according to the report.

On August 18, 2022, Sina Tech cited two people familiar with the matter as saying that Tesla would soon launch a new China-made Model 3, with the biggest highlight being that the entire lineup will use M3P batteries supplied by CATL, with a range improvement of at least 10 percent.

With the new battery pack, the two versions of the China-made Model 3 are expected to have a range of more than 600 km and 700 km, up from the previous 556 km to 675 km.