THE Chinese behemoth that makes electric car batteries for Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG developed a power pack that lasts more than a million miles — an industry landmark and a potential boon for automakers trying to sway drivers to their electric vehicle (EV) models.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL) is ready to produce a battery that lasts 16 years and 2 million kilometers, chairman Zeng Yuqun said in an interview at company headquarters in Ningde. Warranties on batteries currently used in electric cars cover about 150,000 miles or eight years, according to BloombergNEF.

Extending that lifespan is viewed as a key advance because the pack could be reused in a second vehicle. That would lower the expense of owning an electric vehicle, a positive for an industry that’s seeking to recover sales momentum lost to the coronavirus outbreak and the slumping oil prices that made gas guzzlers more competitive.

“If someone places an order, we are ready to produce,” said Zeng, 52, without disclosing if contracts for the long-distance product have been signed. It would cost about 10 percent more than the batteries now inside EVs, said Zeng, whose company is the world’s largest maker of the batteries.

Tesla last year flagged it expected to bring into production a battery capable of a million miles of operation, and General Motors Co. last month said it is nearing the milestone. That distance is equivalent to circling the planet 50 times.

Anticipating a rapid return to growth for the EV industry, CATL is plowing research and development dollars into advances in battery technology. While the coronavirus outbreak will drag down sales throughout this year, EV demand will pick up in early 2021, said Zeng, who founded CATL a decade ago.

Car buyers holding back during the pandemic is creating pentup demand that will be unleashed starting next year, led by premium models, he said. CATL’s customers include BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp.

Zeng’s comments strengthen views that electric vehicles are set to weather the economic slowdown caused by the outbreak better than gas guzzlers. Battery-powered cars will swell to 8.1 percent of all sales next year in China, which accounts for the largest share of global EV sales, and to 5 percent in Europe, BNEF predicts.

“The pandemic may have a lasting effect throughout 2020, but won’t be a major factor next year,” Zeng said. “We have great confidence for the long run.”

The CATL batteries are set to go into Model 3 sedans produced at Tesla’s massive new factory near Shanghai.

CATL, which is adding a production facility in Germany, is set to make more than 70 percent of batteries required by BMW, an early customer, Zeng said. CATL also works with Volkswagen’s Audi unit and is cooperating with Porsche, he said.

Zeng didn’t rule out building a plant in the United States, though he said the company has no specific plans for now.(SD-Agencies)