Joining hands with Zhangxue Motorcycle, CATL is about to do something big.

The news spread like wildfire. Recently, Xiamen Xin'neng'an Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xin'neng'an") released a video titled "Zhangxue Motorcycle × Xin'neng'an" on social platforms, with the caption "The show is just beginning. Stay tuned." It officially announced a strategic cooperation with Zhangxue Motorcycle to jointly enter the electric motorcycle market.

It is reported that the first jointly developed track - level electric motorcycle of the two parties is expected to be unveiled in the second half of this year and go into mass production in 2028. The price is likely to be set in the range of 50,000 - 80,000 yuan, targeting mid - to high - end imported electric motorcycles.

Upon closer inspection, behind "Xin'neng'an", which has joined hands with Zhangxue Motorcycle, stands CATL. According to data from CVSource of Touzhong Jiachuan, Xin'neng'an is a lithium - battery enterprise jointly established by CATL and ATL. It focuses on fields such as energy storage, short - distance travel, drones, cleaning tools, and general robotics. Currently, it has provided lithium - battery solutions for multiple well - known two - wheeled travel brands.

The "Invisible Lithium - Battery Giant" Joins Hands with Zhangxue Motorcycle

Compared with the popularity of Zhangxue Motorcycle, which has won consecutive championships at the Portuguese WSBK races with its 820RR - RS racing motorcycle, "Xin'neng'an" is relatively low - key and even somewhat unfamiliar to the public. However, in the lithium - battery segment, it is a veritable "invisible champion".

Data shows that Xin'neng'an was established in 2021, led by Zeng Yqun, the chairman of CATL. CATL holds a 70% stake, and ATL holds 30%. In the five years since its establishment, Xin'neng'an has achieved the first place in global drone battery shipments and the first place in the market share of electric motorcycle lithium batteries. In 2025, it made it onto the Fortune China 50 Most Innovative Companies list. In 2024, it ranked 23rd among the top 100 private enterprises in Xiamen with an operating income of 7.826 billion yuan, rapidly growing into an industry benchmark.

So, what kind of sparks will be generated when these two "champions" join hands?

Firstly, there will be a breakthrough in motorcycle performance. According to the disclosure, the first jointly developed track - level electric motorcycle aims for a top speed of over 120 km/h, a range of over 200 km, and a fast - charging ability to reach 80% in 10 minutes. This performance exactly matches Zhangxue's persistent pursuit of technology and the ultimate goal of "uncompromising high - performance". Some investors even believe that this performance is expected to directly compete with 400cc - 600cc fuel motorcycles, breaking the industry prejudice that "electric motorcycles have no high - performance".

Secondly, there is the safety standard. For the usage scenarios of electric motorcycles in high - speed, heavy - load, and extreme environments, Xin'neng'an is expected to customize a liquid - cooled/air - cooled composite thermal management system, explosion - proof battery cells, and IP68 - level protection for Zhangxue Motorcycle. Through strict tests such as extreme temperatures from - 30°C to 60°C and 1000 charge - discharge cycles, it can achieve "stability on the track and safety in daily use", filling the gap in the safety technology of domestic high - performance electric motorcycles.

The most profound significance lies in the reshaping of the industry pattern. For a long time, motorcycles have mainly relied on fuel. After the cooperation between Zhangxue Motorcycle and Xin'neng'an, it undoubtedly sends a strong signal to the outside world: electricity can also be a power source for high - performance motorcycles. This is of milestone significance for the motorcycle industry.

To some extent, it marks that domestic electric motorcycles will officially bid farewell to the single dimension of "commuting" and leap to a new track of "high - performance entertainment", initiating an industry revolution jointly led by "Chinese performance" and "Chinese energy".

Behind this is a two - way pursuit between the "track champion" and the "lithium - battery king".

On the one hand, as the "track champion", Zhangxue Motorcycle has an extreme "love" and "obsession" with performance. From the 17 - item inspection of a single bolt to the track warm - up before the motorcycle leaves the factory, Zhangxue Motorcycle uses almost "rigorous" standards to break the monopoly of Europe, America, and Japan on the fuel track, proving that domestic motorcycles can also have world - class handling and quality. This love is the soul and cornerstone for its motorcycles to cross from the "gasoline era" to the "electricity era".

On the other hand, as the "lithium - battery king", Xin'neng'an has absolute confidence and technical strength in the lithium - battery field. Inheriting the top - notch R & D genes of CATL and ATL, Xin'neng'an is not only the "offspring" of CATL and ATL but also ranks first globally in the electric motorcycle and drone segments. Its core technologies such as the E30P battery cell and BP material system have proven to the world that electric motorcycles can also have a stable, safe, and powerful high - performance "power heart".

This absolute confidence from the "lithium - battery king" is the greatest support for Zhangxue Motorcycle to realize its dream of "track - level" electric motorcycles.

CATL's Breakthrough

Of course, the cooperation with Zhangxue Motorcycle is just one aspect of CATL's exploration of new businesses and new directions.

In addition to traditional new - energy vehicles, I've noticed that in recent years, CATL has begun to consciously break away from the role of a single battery manufacturer, making a comprehensive transformation from "battery production" to "energy services". It is committed to becoming a full - scenario energy solution provider to avoid the fluctuations of a single cycle.

Therefore, CATL can often be seen in fields such as electric ships, robotics, low - altitude economy, hydrogen energy, and green hydrogen equipment. So far, through investments and the establishment of joint ventures, CATL has gradually built an all - domain energy map that spans water, land, and air and extends to the virtual world.

During this process, its investments in the robotics field are particularly impressive. Data shows that CATL has invested in several star robot companies, including Galaxy Universal, Songyan Power, Qianxun Intelligence, and Zhongqing Robotics.

For example, in June 2025, CATL's strategic investment arm and Puquan Capital (CATL Capital) led an 1.1 - billion - yuan financing round of Galaxy Universal and became an important shareholder. Data shows that after the investment, Galaxy Universal's industrial heavy - load robot Galbot S1 has achieved fully autonomous and regular operations in CATL's battery factory, becoming the first regular humanoid robot deployed on CATL's production line. At the same time, the cooperation between the two parties has also shifted from the application of robots in industrial scenarios to the synergy of battery technology.

In March 2026, Chendao Capital, an industrial investment platform under CATL, appeared as the lead investor in an almost 1 - billion - yuan Series B financing round of Songyan Power. Previously, Songyan Power had made a two - pronged layout with bipedal humanoid robots and anthropomorphic humanoid robots. Its "Xiaobumi" was pre - sold at a price of 9,998 yuan, positioning it as the world's first high - performance consumer - grade humanoid robot priced under 10,000 yuan. Against this background, Chendao Capital's investment focuses on its motion control ability and mass - production potential in industrial scenarios, which means that Chendao Capital may promote the application of CATL's battery solutions in the consumer robot field from the perspective of capital connection.

Furthermore, in 2025, Puquan Capital under CATL participated in the Series A1 financing round of Zhongqing Robotics. At that time, the company had only been established for 10 months, but it had launched a fully open - source and full - size bipedal robot product. Its T80 robot is equipped with a solid - state battery with a 4 - 5 - hour battery life, enabling CATL to further explore the collaborative innovation between batteries and robot hardware through investment.

The latest development is that Xiamen Ruiting, the controlling shareholder of CATL, plans to donate 5 million shares of the company it holds to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Education Development Foundation. Calculated based on the closing price on the day the announcement was released, the market value of this donation exceeds 2 billion yuan, setting a new donation record for Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

At first glance, this action seems unrelated to the expansion of CATL's business map, but in fact, it has profound implications. In the energy empire built by CATL, Zeng Yqun believes that technology is always the core driving force, and top - tier universities are the source of cutting - edge technological breakthroughs. Meanwhile, the 130th anniversary celebration of Shanghai Jiao Tong University held today (April 8) has also dominated the investment and innovation circle.

From Zeng Yqun, the founder of CATL, to Cai Haoyu, the co - founder of Mihoyo, and the billion - scale IPOs of companies like Muxi, Biren Technology, and MiniMax, their founders or co - founders all graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a 130 - year - old prestigious university. As an alumnus of the Department of Naval Architecture Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in the class of 1985, Zeng Yqun is well aware that Shanghai Jiao Tong University has profound accumulations in fields such as energy power, artificial intelligence, and high - end manufacturing, which are highly consistent with CATL's industrial layout.

Therefore, in October 2020, Zeng Yqun promoted the establishment of a joint research center for clean energy technology between CATL and his alma mater. The two parties focused on major national strategic tasks, aimed at international cutting - edge technologies, built dual platforms for "research and innovation" and "talent cultivation", and donated funds to establish an education fund to support cutting - edge technological breakthroughs and talent cultivation, laying the foundation for CATL's technological innovation.

Now, with the cooperation between Xin'neng'an and Zhangxue Motorcycle, CATL has found a new breakthrough in application scenarios. Compared with investments in robotics and the low - altitude economy, if these investments are CATL's early moves in the "future track", then joining hands with Zhangxue Motorcycle is a precise move in the "existing market transformation".

This time, CATL seems no longer content to be just the provider of the "heart" behind the scenes. Instead, it tries to stand on the world stage with Zhangxue Motorcycle, using top - notch battery technology to define product forms and initiate a collective expedition of "Made in China".

This article is from the WeChat official account "Touzhongwang", author: Chen Mei. Republished by 36Kr with permission.