Tests show CATL EV batteries last longer than rivals

CATL’s position as the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer is increasingly being reinforced by independent testing. Recent analysis by Morgan Stanley shows that CATL’s batteries deliver markedly lower degradation than rival products, strengthening the company’s reputation for durability and long-term value.

Morgan Stanley expects global energy storage installations to reach about 600 GWh in 2025, rising beyond 900 GWh in 2026. As volumes scale fast, the firm notes that battery degradation will become a critical factor in determining competitiveness, particularly in terms of cost per cycle over a battery’s usable life.

In comparative testing, CATL’s lithium-ion batteries recorded the slowest performance decline, significantly outperforming competing cells. After covering roughly two million kilometres, vehicles using CATL batteries still retained around 400 km of driving range. By comparison, batteries from other suppliers showed notably higher wear, with remaining range closer to 350 kilometres or less.

The findings are based on real-world usage rather than laboratory simulations. Morgan Stanley analysed data from 12 electric vehicles and 100 battery samples operating across four major Chinese cities. In its research, vehicles fitted with CATL batteries showed a consistently slower degradation curve than those using alternative suppliers.

Long-term energy storage projects further support these results. At China’s Zhangbei National Wind-Solar-Storage Demonstration Project, CATL is one of several LFP battery suppliers. However, its systems are the only ones that have not required replacement, retaining more than 90 percent of capacity after 14 years in operation.

CATL was also the first company to deploy an LFP battery exceeding 12,000 cycles, with a system installed in Jinjiang in 2020 that is expected to operate for over two decades.

Market data shows CATL holding a 38.2% share of global EV battery usage through November 2025. The company supplies batteries to major manufacturers including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, and is preparing sodium-ion batteries for commercial deployment by the end of 2026.

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