Chinese automobile giant SAIC Motor (SHA:600104) partnered with Contemporary Amperex Technology (SHE:300750), or CATL, for the production of batteries.

Under the deal, CATL will be SAIC's preferred supplier for automotive power batteries, according to SAIC's Jan. 10 release published on Weibo.

Both parties will jointly develop power batteries for SAIC, with CATL's products, such as Kirin batteries and Shenxing batteries, to be used first in SAIC models, the release said.

Both parties will also tie up in the vehicle-battery separation business, with SAIC developing and selling battery-swap models. CATL and its affiliates will provide standard battery-swap services, as well as battery sales and battery leasing services.

SAIC's shares dropped less than 7% in recent trade.