A Li Auto customer in China's Henan province is fighting to cancel her order for the new Li Auto MEGA after discovering the vehicle will use a self-developed battery instead of one from CATL. The dispute, reported by the outlet Huxiu, shows how a battery supplier's name has become a deciding factor for some EV buyers.
The customer paid a 5,000 yuan deposit in September to lock in a MEGA priced at 509,800 yuan (about $71,800). When she learned the car would not carry a CATL battery, she asked for a refund. Li Auto refused, citing an official notice that vehicles locked in after 3 p.m. on September 7 would switch from CATL's 5C ternary lithium battery to Li Auto's own 5C ternary lithium unit. The self-developed battery has cells, pack, and battery management system (BMS) designed by Li Auto, with cells produced by partner manufacturers.
Li Auto staff in Zhengzhou told Huxiu that the battery brand is not a core selling point and they did not expect customers to care. As of the report, the two sides were still negotiating.
Battery brand as a proxy for quality
The dispute reflects a deeper shift in how Chinese consumers evaluate EVs. A recent NielsenIQ study, cited by Huxiu, found that battery quality accounts for 13.8% of Chinese car-buying decisions, second only to overall safety. The same survey said 37.1% of Chinese respondents would abandon a model if it did not use CATL batteries.
CATL's brand has become a form of credit endorsement for automakers, Huxiu argues. When a consumer faces a vehicle costing 400,000 to 500,000 yuan (about $56,300 to $70,400), they cannot easily verify cell chemistry, lifespan, or degradation. The name “CATL” offers a simple shortcut. The supplier even launched a tool in May that lets consumers check whether a specific model uses its batteries.
This mirrors Intel's “Intel Inside” strategy from 1991, which turned a hidden component into a recognizable brand. CATL is following a similar path, making itself a visible part of the purchase decision.
Who defines the product?
Automakers have long preferred to keep suppliers invisible. Buyers of a Mercedes rarely ask who made the ESP, and Toyota customers seldom inquire about individual controllers. The car brand itself carried the trust. But EVs have changed that: batteries, driver-assistance chips, and autonomous-driving systems are now named in launch events, creating a second brand layer beneath the car badge.
Batteries are especially important because they are expensive, last for years, and affect range, charging speed, safety, and resale value—none of which can be fully tested in a short test drive. That information gap pushes consumers toward a trusted name, and CATL has filled that role.
An industry insider told Huxiu that automakers and battery suppliers are now quietly competing for product definition power. Automakers want to reclaim control, but suppliers are reluctant to give it up. The shift is not just about who writes the requirements; it determines whether the car is designed around the battery or the battery around the car.
Li Auto began battery research in 2020 and is now rolling out its self-developed system across more models. The company says that regardless of whether the battery comes from CATL, Sunwoda, or its own system, it will lead the underlying product definition, technical standards, and quality control, hoping consumers ultimately trust “Li Auto standards.” The question is whether buyers will accept that trade-off.
