CATL’s skateboard chassis subsidiary has signed its first overseas passenger vehicle contract, agreeing to co-develop three EV models with the Turkish carmaker Togg under a partnership the Chinese battery giant disclosed on Thursday.
Contemporary Amperex Intelligent Technology (Shanghai) Limited (known as CAIT) will supply its Bedrock Chassis platform to Togg for vehicles targeting Turkish and European markets, with the first model scheduled for mass production in 2027.
The deal marks the first one outside China and signals a shift up the automotive value stack for the world’s largest battery maker, which has spent the past two years extending beyond cell manufacturing into chassis, swap infrastructure, and battery asset management.
The Bedrock Platform
CAIT operates as a 90%-owned CATL subsidiary headquartered in Shanghai. The unit launched the Bedrock Chassis in December 2024.
The platform integrates the battery, electric drive system, thermal management system, and chassis domain controller into a single structural unit using cell-to-chassis (CTC) technology.
CATL describes it as a “battery-centric” architecture in which the chassis “effectively acts as a mobile energy carrier for the vehicle.”
The battery maker’s chassis unit claims the Bedrock Chassis absorbs 85% of collision energy compared with roughly 60% for conventional designs.
At launch, the company demonstrated a 120 kilometres-per-hour (75mph) frontal pole impact test — generating collision energy 4.6 times greater than the standard 56 km/h C-NCAP test — without fire or thermal runaway.
The system disconnects high-voltage circuits within 0.01 seconds of impact and discharges residual energy within 0.2 seconds.
CATL says the platform compresses vehicle development cycles to 12-18 months from the traditional 36 months or more, supports L3-L4 autonomy, and enables multiple models to share a single chassis.
The company calls the addressable market “trillion-yuan.”
Avatr to Togg
Avatr — the premium EV brand jointly owned by Changan, Huawei, and CATL — was the first automaker to adopt the Bedrock Chassis at the December 2024 launch.
CATL’s shareholding in Avatr made the inaugural customer effectively captive.
Mass production began in the Chinese market in 2024 — described by CATL as “the world’s first deployment of an integrated intelligent chassis offered as a standalone product to passenger vehicle brands.”
The Bedrock platform sits within an earlier CATL skateboard programme branded CIIC (CATL Integrated Intelligent Chassis), first disclosed in late 2023.
CIIC’s first partnership was with Hozon Auto’s Neta brand, alongside memoranda of understanding with VinFast and BAIC.
The Togg Mechanics
Togg led Turkey’s EV market last year with 39,020 units sold, according to industry data cited by Anadolu Agency.
The brand was founded in 2018 as a consortium-backed national EV programme and launched its first model, the T10X SUV, in 2023.
The Bedrock partnership marks Togg’s first move into mass-market B-segment vehicles after debuting in C-segment crossovers.
Togg “will play a defining role in shaping the user experience, product requirements and digital architecture,” according to the press release.
“We are taking the partnerships we establish beyond conventional supplier relationships and turning them into strategic partnerships that create shared value and build the future together,” Tosyalı said.
“Rather than adopting a ready-made solution, we are becoming part of the entire development process.”
The deal is structured under CATL’s “1+1+1” localisation model: one chassis platform, one industrial supply chain pathway, one local automotive brand.
CAIT confirmed it is continuing to expand cooperation around the Bedrock Chassis in Europe and Southeast Asia.
The platform “is designed to help emerging automotive markets build competitive electric vehicle industries more efficiently,” CATL said.
CATL Beyond Cells
The Togg agreement extends a CATL playbook of moving beyond batteries into adjacent automotive value-chain segments.
The same parent company has partnered with Sinopec to build 10,000 battery swap stations under its Choco-SEB ecosystem.
CATL has deepened its Mirattery exposure — the Nio-affiliated battery asset operator in which it holds 10.68%.
It has signed a 10-year strategic agreement with GAC Group and committed up to 2.5 billion yuan ($362 million) to Nio Power.
The company has also collaborated with BAIC since June 2024 on swap-compatible chassis under a separate platform branded Qiji.
CATL did not disclose financial terms of the Togg agreement, the volume framework, or the structure of the partnership.
