An EV with a 600-mile range is around the corner

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CATL, a Chinese batteries manufacturer and one of the world’s leading makers of EV batteries, has announced that its next-generation battery has a range of 621 miles and will debut early next year.

The battery will be installed in two models made by Zeekr, a Chinese brand that is not yet available in the United States.

The ability to go 621 miles (or 1,000 kilometers) on a single charge is much more than the models that now lead the U.S. market in battery range: the Lucid Air (520 miles) and the Tesla Model S (405 miles).

It’s not much of a stretch to imagine a near future in which range anxiety is no longer a thing. For me, 621 miles is nearly enough to cover the longest haul I ever drive, which is from my home in Columbus, Ohio, to the town where I grew up in Iowa.

“I personally like the idea of waking up every morning, if you’ve been able to charge overnight, to a full tank,” he said.

He said it’s too early to know how well the new CATL battery will work, but there’s no doubt that the EV ranges are increasing by leaps and bounds. He pointed to the announcement last month that Stellantis, parent company of Jeep and Chrysler, had purchased a plant in Massachusetts for manufacturing solid-state batteries, a technology that could lead to a big increase in range and a decrease in charging time.

As battery technology improves, ranges should increase across the price spectrum. For example, the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, a compact SUV, will go on sale in about a year with a price of about $30,000 and a range of about 300 miles.

Zeekr is not alone in having announced a model with a range of more than 600 miles. Steve Man, a senior auto analyst for BloombergNEF, listed two others, both from Chinese brands:

The GAC Aion LX Plus, a compact SUV that went on sale in January in China, has a range of 625 miles. And carmaker Nio said an upcoming version of its ET7 sedan, sold in China, will have a range of about 620 miles.

You may be noticing a theme here, about how China can make a strong case that it is now the center of innovation for electric vehicles, and has a head start in leading the automotive market of the near future.

Zeekr hasn’t disclosed prices for the models that will have the new battery, but its existing Zeekr 001, a compact SUV, sells for about $57,000. The new battery will be sold in an updated version of the 001 and in a new model, the 009 minivan.

CATL and Zeekr jointly announced their plans to use the new battery on August 27.

“We are dedicated to enabling automakers to build global high-end car brands with leading EV battery technologies and solutions, thus promoting global e-mobility transition,” said Robin Zeng, CATL’s founder and chairman, in a statement.

China-based CATL, which stands for Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, is a key player in the global transition to electric vehicles, along with other battery-making superpowers like LG of South Korea and Panasonic of Japan. CATL was started in 2011 and has rapidly grown along with the Chinese EV market, helped by a close relationship with the Chinese government. Its customers have included BMW, Tesla, and Volkswagen.

CATL doesn’t yet have a plant in the United States, but the company has been looking to build one. Reuters reported in May that CATL has been vetting sites in Kentucky and South Carolina for a plant that would make batteries for EVs made by Ford and BMW.