CATL 2025 Annual Report Deep Dive: Behind the RMB 72.2 Billion Profit—"Global Expansion Engine" and "Standard-Setting Power"

Core Data/Events

Dimension Key Information

Revenue & Profit 2025 revenue: RMB 423.7 billion (+17% YoY); net profit: RMB 72.2 billion (+42% YoY); operating cash flow: RMB 133.2 billion

Production & Sales Lithium battery sales: 661GWh (+39% YoY). Among them, EV batteries 541GWh (+41.85%), ESS batteries 121GWh (+29.13%)

Global Market Share Global power battery market share: 39.2% (+1.2pct), 1 for 9 consecutive years; overseas market share surged to 30% ; ESS battery shipments: 30.4% market share, 1 for 5 consecutive years

Overseas Revenue Overseas revenue accounted for 30.6%, with growth rate exceeding domestic and gross margin 7.44 percentage points higher

Overseas Capacity Germany plant profitable in 2025; Hungary plant to begin cell production in Spring 2026, initial capacity 40GWh; Spain JV and Indonesia projects progressing

R&D Investment R&D investment: RMB 22.1 billion (+19% YoY); cumulative R&D over past decade exceeded RMB 90 billion; 6 global R&D centers, ~23,000 R&D personnel; 54,538 patents

BMW Strategic Partnership On Feb 25, signed MOU with BMW on battery passport cross-border data pilot and supply chain carbon footprint collaborative reduction, leveraging Catena-X platform to align data standards

ESG Recognition Feb 18, first selected in S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook, ranking in top 8% of ESG performance in global electrical components industry; MSCI ESG rating AA; core operations carbon neutral

New Business Expansion Over 1,300 battery swap stations across 45 cities, over 1.15 million swap services in 2025; nearly 1,000 electric vessels; eVTOL completed world’s largest 5-ton-class public flight

Industry Insights CATL’s 2025 annual report offers three lessons for China’s new energy industrial chain going global:

“30% Overseas Revenue Share” Is a Qualitative Signal, Not the Endpoint: With overseas revenue exceeding 30%, overseas market share jumping to 30%, and overseas plants turning profitable, CATL has evolved from a “Chinese champion” to a “global champion.” The next step: further increasing overseas share, or deepening the “China HQ + global factories” network? The answer is likely both.

The “Battery Passport” Partnership Marks Chinese Companies Securing a Seat in Global Rule-Making: Deep collaboration with BMW on Catena-X platform and data standards means CATL has transitioned from a “rule follower” to a “rule co-builder.” When Chinese companies gain a voice in setting global standards, the qualitative leap in “going global” will be truly complete.

“ESG” Is Not a Cost—It’s Brand Asset and Entry Ticket: Being selected in the top 8% of S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook and achieving MSCI ESG AA rating means CATL has cleared the world’s most stringent ESG thresholds. For companies deeply embedded in global supply chains, ESG capability is rapidly shifting from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have.”

CATL 2025AnnualReport GlobalExpansion BatteryPassport BMW ESG StandardSetting NEVIndustrialChain