China's Geely has developed a battery that can be charged in under five minutes, challenging the dominance of CATL and BYD in the EV battery race. The ultrafast system charges from 10% to 70% in four minutes and 30 seconds, and reaches 97% in eight minutes and 40 seconds, matching CATL and BYD's speeds. This highlights Chinese carmakers' push to reduce dependence on CATL, the largest EV battery maker accounting for about 38% of global lithium iron phosphate capacity.

Alongside Geely, Changan, SAIC, Xiaomi, Xpeng, and Li Auto have increased in-house battery R&D and diversified suppliers. The trend, dubbed 'De-CATLification,' faces analyst skepticism, with Rystad's Chen Shan noting CATL's position is extremely difficult to dislodge. CATL's market dominance limits automakers' bargaining power, prompting cost-cutting efforts.

Meanwhile, CATL is pivoting to energy storage for AI data centres, and recent commentary from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology warned quality should not be sacrificed for cost reduction in supply chains.