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Brian Ho,CFA+85221232615 brian.ho@bernsteinsg.comHengliangZhang+85221232629 hengliang.zhang@bernsteinsg.com .BMW secures NeueKlasse production startin theUS-electrive.com.AfterBMW'spartnerAESC unexpectedly haltedtheconstruction of its battery cell factory nearBMW's US plant last June, it was uncertain whether BMWcould start US production of the NeueKlasseon time. However, BMw's Chief Procurement Officer, Nicolai Martin, has now confirmed that the issues havebeen resolved."Thereisno risk of a battery cell shortage for our Spartanburg plant," Martin told the German Automobilwoche."The new facility in Woodruff willbegin assembling high-voltage batteries as planned in 2026,and by the end of 2026, we will start manufacturing fully electric vehicles inSpartanburg."Fora transitionalperiod,AESCwill supply BMW's US production withcells from its global production network.At the sametime, BMW continuesto pursue a localised value chain within the US. leading contenders,potentially bidding against the likes of Tesla Inc.and Petroleo Brasileiro SA.It's another opportunityfor Chinese firmsto expand their footprint in Brazil. Between 2007 and 2024, power-sector projects accounted for 45% of China's investments in LatinAmerica'slargest economy,totaling $35 billion,accordingto the nonprofit Brazil-China Business Council.Theauction comes afterothercountries inLatinAmericahavebeguncontractingorbuildingutility-scalebatteryprojects,accordingtoresearchfirmBloombergNEFChile has been an early adopter and plans a significant battery expansion overthenext fiveyears.Argentina awarded 667megawatts inits first-ever energy-storage auction last September, with capacity expectedto come online by 2027.Mexico's state utilityhas announcedat least 2.2 gigawatts of storage in its five-year expansion plan. .Demandfor BMWiX3 and Mercedes GLCexceeds expectations-electrive.com.Mercedes-Benzis producing thenew battery-electricGLC, which was unveiled at the IAA Mobility in September,at its Bremen plant using a three-shift system, supplemented by additionalshifts on Saturdaysto meet highdemand.The German Der Spiegel reports to have learned this from sources within the company. Lastweek,Mercedes'Sales Director,Mathias Geisen,stated during the presentation of the 2025 sales figures:"Following the outstandingstartof the new CLA,demandforthe new all-electric GLC is nowalso significantly exceeding our expectations"The companyadded thatorderbooks[are] already flled well into the second half of 2026' In other words, customers ordering an electric GLC now may havetowait until autumn 2026.According to the report, the situation at BMW is similarlypositive.The BMW iX3,also unveiled at the IAA and thefirst model based on the Neue Klasse platform, is reportedly in'exceptionally high demand'from both private and fleet customers. Asia .CATLmarkets sodium batteryfor light commercial vehicles-electrive.com.As reported by portals such as CN EV Post, CATLlaunched its‘Tectrans Il' battery series on Thursday, specifically designed for light commercial vehicles. The series includes three lithium-ion batteriesand a sodium-ion variant, described as a low-temperature'battery. According to CATL, this is the industry's first mass-produced sodiumbatteryfor light commercialvehicles,developedspecificallyfor extreme coldconditions.Thesodiumbattery offers a capacity of 45kWhand canbe charged ad-hoc even inextremecold conditions downto-30C.Themanufacturer statesthatit retains 90%of its usablecapacity at -40 C.Its energy density is 175 Wh/kg, with a lifespan of over 10,000 charge cycles. Additionally, the sodium battery is CATLexpectstobeginfittingsodium-ionbatteries inpassengercarsinQ2-CnEVPost.CATLanticipatescommencingtheuseofsodium- ionbatteries inpassengervehicles next quarter,acceleratingthelarge-scale adoption ofthis newbatterytype.Thecompanyplans toextend sodium-ion battery applications to passengervehicles in the second quarter, with thefirst model featuring such batteries comingfrom GAC Aion, CATLchief technology officer Gao Huan said in an interview withlocal media China Securities Journal on Thursday.Thecompany is developing its third-generation sodiumbattery,Gao said.CATL unveiled its first-generation sodium-ion battery in July2021amid surging lithium carbonate prices, sparking widespread attention for this novel battery type. In April 2025, CATL launched its sodium-ion battery brand Naxtra at its Tech Day event, initiating exploration of lithiumbattery alternatives underthis newbrand.Naxtra passengervehiclebatteries achieve an energy density of up to 175 Wh/kg,leading global sodium-ion batteries and matching LFP batteries,CATLsaidatthetime. Solution is advancing theconstruction ofa pilot production line for sodium-ion batteries at its Nanjing,Jiangsu factory in China to validatemass productionfeasibility,accordingto an ETNewsreport on Tuesday.LG EnergySolution will conduct R&D for next-generationbatteries at its DaejeonTechnology Research Institute,thenproduceapr