BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), China's largest automotive lithium-ion battery maker, began construction work on its first battery plant in north China on Tuesday, the company has announced.

The plant, covering an area of about 260,000 square meters, is situated in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. It will be built in two phases and is scheduled to start production in 2026.

A joint venture with partners such as Xiaomi and Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd., the plant will produce electric vehicle (EV) batteries. CATL is the plant's controlling shareholder.

According to SNE Research, CATL's EV battery consumption volume has ranked first worldwide for seven consecutive years, holding 36.8 percent of the global EV battery market share in 2023.

It has also taken the lead in the market share of global energy storage battery shipment for three straight years, with a global market share of 40 percent in 2023.

Headquartered in Ningde, east China's Fujian Province, CATL has inked supply contracts with a slew of global car manufacturers, including BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler and Honda.