Huayu Automotive's Major Move: Plans to Acquire 49% Stake in SAIC Qingtao

On August 27, HUAYU Automotive Systems Company Limited announced that it plans to acquire a 49% stake in SAIC Qingtao held by its controlling shareholder SAIC Motor Corporation for 206 million yuan. Upon completion of this transaction, HUAYU Automotive will hold a 49% stake in SAIC Qingtao.

SAIC Qingtao was established in November 2023 as a joint venture between SAIC Motor and Qingtao Energy. SAIC Motor holds a 49% stake, while Qingtao Energy holds a 51% stake. The company’s main products are semi-solid-state batteries and all-solid-state batteries.

Image source: SAIC MG

It is reported that SAIC Qingtao has established production bases in Wuhai, Chengdu, Yichun, Kunshan, Taizhou, and other locations, forming a complete industrial chain from material research and development to battery cells and modules. Related products have already been installed in mass-produced SAIC vehicles. For example, the newly launched MG4 is equipped with SAIC Qingtao's semi-solid-state battery. As a result, this move by Huayu Automotive is seen as a formal entry into the solid-state battery field.

As the industry-recognized next-generation battery technology, solid-state batteries use solid electrolytes instead of liquid electrolytes, offering multiple advantages such as higher safety, greater energy density, longer lifespan, and faster charging speeds. They are becoming the mainstream development trend in the industry.

Looking at the market as a whole, almost all major domestic automotive battery companies are currently deploying solid-state batteries. For example, Gotion High-Tech stated on its investor interaction platform in mid-June that its Jinshi all-solid-state battery PACK system has completed preliminary development and application work, and road testing on vehicles has commenced.

Funeng Technology's all-solid-state battery development has progressed from the laboratory stage to pilot production and delivery. It plans to complete the pilot production line for sulfide all-solid-state batteries with a designed capacity of 0.2GWh by the end of this year and deliver 60Ah sulfide all-solid-state batteries to strategic partner customers.

SVOLT Energy is also making every effort to advance the research and mass production of solid-state batteries, planning to trial-produce the first generation of 140Ah semi-solid-state batteries on its 2.3GWh semi-solid-state mass production line in the fourth quarter of 2025.

On the automaker side, companies including BYD, Changan, SAIC, GAC, Chery, and Dongfeng have successively announced plans to adopt solid-state batteries in their vehicles. In terms of timing, they have all coincidentally set the key milestones for the mass production and installation of solid-state batteries around the years 2026 and 2027.

With the joint efforts of the upstream and downstream industries in the supply chain, CATL predicts that solid-state batteries will achieve small-scale mass production by 2027. The maturation of the related supply chain will require 3 to 5 years, and true commercialization or large-scale deployment is expected around 2030.