GAC Group, a Guangzhou-based automobile company, reached an agreement with CATL, or Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd, a Chinese company focusing on research and development, production, and sales of EV battery and energy storage battery systems, to jointly set up two subsidiaries on Thursday.

According to the agreement, GAC Group and the CATL will establish two joint ventures in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, focusing on research and development, production and sales of electric-powered batteries, lithium ion batteries and energy storage systems.

Of the two joint ventures, one will be registered with a capital of 100 million yuan ($14.74 million), the other of 1 billion yuan.

According to GAC Group, partnership with the CATL would facilitate the automobile company's business of developing new energy vehicles in the future.

The company has set up a new energy vehicle industrial park in Panyu district, with a planned production capacity of 400,000 units per year.

Founded in 2011, the CATL, based in Fujian province in East China, has reached cooperative agreements with a wide number of world-renowned electric and bus manufacturers, including BAIC Motor Group, Geely Automobile, Yutong Bus, Nanjing Golden Dragon, Xiamen King Long and Beiqi Foton Motor.

GAC Group's EV concept car Enverge is displayed at a recent auto show in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]