Tesla wins China approval to build Model 3 vehicles with LFP batteries: ministry

BEIJING (Reuters) – Tesla Inc has received government approval to build Model 3 vehicles in China equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a document on Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website showed.

Reuters exclusively reported in February that Tesla was in advanced talks to use LFP batteries from CATL that contain no cobalt – one of the most expensive metals in electric vehicle (EV) batteries – in cars made at its plant in China.

The document does not provide the name of the battery maker. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; editing by Jason Neely)