CATL Ties Up Staff With $1.28bn Share Plan While Mexico Storage Win and Debrecen Ramp-Up Broaden Its Base

CATL's supervisory board backed a second 2026 employee share programme of up to RMB 1.28 billion, funded by treasury A-shares, pending shareholder approval.

CATL's supervisory board signed off yesterday on a second employee participation programme for 2026, a move that will hand staff a stake in the battery giant while drawing on shares the company has been buying back on the open market.

The plan carries a total financial volume of up to RMB 1.28 billion and will be funded with as many as 8.0816 million A-shares already held in treasury from earlier repurchases. A first tranche covers 5,960 eligible employees, though the scheme still needs formal shareholder approval at a general meeting before it can be executed.

Buybacks Build the Share Pool

The treasury stock was assembled through a pair of sizable market purchases. Reuters reported that CATL bought back 3.1 million A-shares for CNY 947 million on 16 September. Five days later it added another 3.6875 million shares at prices between RMB 296.26 and RMB 301 apiece, a transaction worth roughly RMB 1.1 billion. That second batch is earmarked for cancellation, a step that will shrink the total number of shares in circulation.

Management moved on the buybacks as sentiment soured. Roughly two weeks ago, reports that Chinese automakers might shift their supplier allegiances weighed on the stock. Traders fretted over signs that Li Auto is using Sunwoda batteries in its L8 model and that Xiaomi has struck partnerships with CALB and Sunwoda.

Sector Squeezed by Pricing and Demand Worries

Broader industry conditions have darkened in tandem with the customer reshuffle. Bloomberg reported in September on mounting investor concern over domestic overcapacity, ferocious price competition and trade-policy uncertainty hanging over overseas sales.

Chinese lithium futures fell 25% during September, according to media reports, pressured by doubts about demand growth for electric vehicles and stationary storage. Talk of a battery consumption tax and state measures targeting fresh production overcapacity added to the gloom.

Regulators have since pushed back on the worst fears. Chinese media reported that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology dismissed suggestions that CATL was being dropped as an exaggerated reading of standard multi-supplier practices across the industry. The combination of the employee programme and the buybacks is intended to signal stability both inside and outside the company.

Mexico Deal Marks a Storage First

On the operational front, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners signed an agreement yesterday with CATL to supply a battery storage system for the La Alegría solar plant in Mexico. The facility is designed for 313 MW of output and 1,639.45 MWh of storage capacity. CATL said it will be Mexico's first battery storage system exceeding 1 GWh.

Logistics and battery-swapping arrangements are moving in parallel. On Tuesday, freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel inked a memorandum of understanding with CATL covering battery logistics, transport electrification and emissions reduction, including a shift of European transport flows for CATL to electric drivetrains.

Also on Tuesday, Kandi Technologies disclosed that a subsidiary had won a second procurement order for heavy-truck battery-swapping station equipment. The customer, according to media reports, is QIJI Energy, a CATL group subsidiary.

Hungary Lines Enter Trial Phase

A little over a week ago, CATL began trial operation on the first two production lines at its Hungarian site in Debrecen after securing regulatory approvals. The company puts the planned total capacity of the plant at 100 GWh.

The shares closed yesterday at CNY 291.11, down 21% year to date and 38% below their 52-week high. Ford chief executive Jim Farley, as reported by Reuters yesterday, urged the US to weigh carefully whether to admit Chinese automakers to the American market, pointing to Ford's cooperation with CATL on cheaper battery production at a Michigan plant.