SHENZHEN FACTORY TECHNOLOGY battery packs- is it real?

[Astral]

Hi all,

I recently stumbled upon this company on youtube, not sure if I am allowed to post links but you can search for Robert Luo. Apparently they make CATL NMC battery packs for the Leaf, you can buy just the cells and upgrade yourself or you can buy the whole pack. 62kwh battery pack is about 6200 USD, without shipping and taxes etc. They claim that because of using the big CATL battery, the charge/discharge C rate is lower and then it does not heat up the battery so much and active thermal cooling is not needed.

There is a lot of videos and also a video of him driving the ZE0 Leaf with 62kwh pack for 526km on a single charge.

So I am wondering if anyone has tried to do business with them, was it successfully? They claim a sealed pack from them is just needed to bolt on to the car and that's it, should work without any other setup.

 

[Lucky]

Hello. I saw his video and it looks really interesting to me. I'll get in contact and demand the datasheets. Price is very tempting indeed. Since you are from Croatia, maybe we could cut some shipping cost, who knows.

 

[TobyHolland]

I've been in touch with Robert for some time now, but there are still some massive questions over these 'universal' cell replacement jobs for the Leaf - not least because NONE of the suppliers, so far, are sufficiently open and upfront to list a complete conversion kit, with wiring, BMS etc etc, let alone provide me with a price list and shipping costs......this appears to be how they do business in China, but as far as I'm concerned, while I can buy REALLY good, almost unused, OE 40kwh packs for less money, that drop into every Leaf within a few hours, the prospect of stripping and rebuilding every pack to fit these cells is unrealistic - it'd be a weeks work, not a day - but, clearly, for DIY folks that know what they're doing, and have the technical knowledge and ability to 're-engineer' their Leaf pack, there's only the risk issue of sending thousands of $ abroad, with pretty much zero chance of Warranty support from the other side of the world........
As an aside, for EU buyers, Hybrid Tek who have been doing Hybrid battery upgrades for some time, are just finalising THEIR complete, comprehensive kits to do THIS upgrade...as soon as my requested 'demo' kit has been delivered, built & fitted, I'll be reporting straight back

 

[Astral]

Hello. I saw his video and it looks really interesting to me. I'll get in contact and demand the datasheets. Price is very tempting indeed. Since you are from Croatia, maybe we could cut some shipping cost, who knows.

I am actually hoping I will never need this battery from China since my current 40kw one is in good shape at 5 years old. But it is never bad to have this kind of option if really needed one day.

I can tell you the information that I got, the ship comes to a shipyard in Croatia, Rijeka. It is possible to pay only the freight to there and then take it directly from the shipyard if you have a way to carry the cells or the whole battery pack yourself. This would cut a lot of the cost.

The offer I got for a 62kw pack is:
Price + shipping for the full pack with case - USD7450 delivery to port Rijeka, USD8350 delivery to door.

So 900 dollars less if you come get it yourself, for me it's not so far away, 2h drive.
My idea was to get in touch with a local mechanic in Rijeka and do the swap there with their help.

But it is a lot of money, even though they claim this is the entire cost, taxes included, I am a bit skeptical.

Hybrid Tek - it seems they are using the same CATL cells as Robert from China but they are in Hungary. From what i google, this would be much simpler for Lucky and myself as it is a neighboring country.
Under their products page it seems like battery upgrade for Leaf is already available. We should get in touch and ask for a quote.

 

[Lucky]

I hope that prices you mentioned have VAT included, because they seem pretty high to me. At the moment I'm still waiting for my first batch of batteries to arrive. I thought the ship will land in Koper, but it's headed to Antwerpen in Belgium, so that will add at least an extra week in delivery. I don't usually share too much details, but my 42kWh worth of CATL cells cost me USD4200 DDP for 100pcs, which seems to be a very good price. But these are raw cells with nuts and bus bars, so there will be a lot of additional work. When I get the cells I'll have to make new metal construction. Actually I have a company with industrial laser cutter and bending machines very close to me.

I don't think, that packs assembled in Europe will be cost effective for me, because I'm not the end customer but planning to be "battery mechanic" for Nissan Leaf and I'm happy to assemble the cells for myself if this means 2000€ of price difference.

If you order the assembled packs for you, they should be really easy to replace. Kit looks very good and with everything you need. Just a couple of clicks and the BMS is connected. Splicing 97 wires from the BMS is such a pain. For me the main problem is to remove and reattach the battery from the vehicle and move it around. Also I have a workshop for my small business, but it is too small for such things.

Your battery may really be in a good shape because you know what you may and may not do with your car. It can last very long and it usually does, but some people can burn it very quickly.

I think I have enough information for now. I will write some more when my cells arrive and if (hopefully) my installation will be a success. Definitely we should stay in touch as we might have some common interests .

 

[Astral]

From what Robert said, yes, the VAT should be included.

I think you deserve a new thread to document your process and progress, I am sure a lot of people would be very interested. Who knows maybe you end up making a lot more packs than you think if you want to capitalize on your knowledge

 

[TobyHolland]

I am actually hoping I will never need this battery from China since my current 40kw one is in good shape at 5 years old. But it is never bad to have this kind of option if really needed one day.

I can tell you the information that I got, the ship comes to a shipyard in Croatia, Rijeka. It is possible to pay only the freight to there and then take it directly from the shipyard if you have a way to carry the cells or the whole battery pack yourself. This would cut a lot of the cost.

The offer I got for a 62kw pack is:
Price + shipping for the full pack with case - USD7450 delivery to port Rijeka, USD8350 delivery to door.

So 900 dollars less if you come get it yourself, for me it's not so far away, 2h drive.
My idea was to get in touch with a local mechanic in Rijeka and do the swap there with their help.

But it is a lot of money, even though they claim this is the entire cost, taxes included, I am a bit skeptical.

Hybrid Tek - it seems they are using the same CATL cells as Robert from China but they are in Hungary. From what i google, this would be much simpler for Lucky and myself as it is a neighboring country.
Under their products page it seems like battery upgrade for Leaf is already available. We should get in touch and ask for a quote.

I have been speaking with Hybrid Tec for a while now, and await my first demonstrator battery kit - we will be stocking and supplying these in Hungary, so EU Taxes and Duties already paid - and we will be dealing with Warranty here in Hungary, too -
BUT, nothing is finalised, yet, although clearly as soon as I've tested and can assure the demo kit, all prices and specs will be published..
Anyone keen could follow my Facebook page Nissan Leaf Battery Swap / Upgrade Europe or DIY | Jákfa, and/or subscribe to my YouTube channel : https://youtube.com/@mnmszerviz?si=O5v-Qg_5wocgCUgz

 

[Bombastinator2]

I won’t buy a battery cell direct from China myself. I’ve seen too many counterfeits come out of there.