CATL shares in Shenzhen rose 3.5% after the battery maker said it has begun trial production at its new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, a milestone that moves the world’s biggest EV battery supplier closer to adding overseas capacity even as investors had grown anxious about slower buybacks and weakening sentiment around the stock.
CATL Starts Trial Production at Hungary Plant
The start of trial production matters because it shows CATL is still executing on its long-planned European expansion, a strategy aimed at serving automakers closer to their assembly lines and reducing logistics and tariff risk. The company said the Debrecen facility has met conditions required under its environmental permit and secured the necessary approvals, clearing a major operational hurdle.
Sentiment IndicatorsⓘProprietary · adalytica.com · September 26, 2026
This is a snapshot — live sentiment, awareness and momentum for 130+ markets update continuously in the dashboard.Open AlphaPulse
For investors, the bigger immediate catalyst was the stock reaction in China. The 3.5% gain was CATL’s biggest move since July 27 and snapped a five-day slide, helped by news that management bought back just over 1 billion yuan worth of shares on Monday, the largest single-day repurchase under its current program.
That buyback pace had been a sore point. CATL launched a record repurchase plan worth up to 40 billion yuan in July, but had only bought back about 2.7 billion yuan of shares before Monday, or 6.8% of the top end of the target range. The slower execution fed speculation about factory output cuts, a possible third-quarter profit decline and even customer losses.
Those worries have been amplified by signs that some Chinese EV makers are diversifying away from CATL. Li Auto is planning to introduce its own battery design, while Xiaomi has started spreading orders across rivals such as CALB and Sunwoda to reduce dependence on the market leader.
The Debrecen trial run, combined with a more forceful buyback, gives CATL a chance to reset the narrative, at least for now. But the stock still faces scrutiny over margins, customer retention and the pace at which the Hungary plant moves from testing into commercial output.
| Entity | Gains | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| CATL | ▲European capacity progress; share support from buybacks | ▼Skeptics betting on slower growth |
| CATL shareholders | ▲Near-term stock rebound | ▼Investors worried about margin pressure |
| Li Auto, Xiaomi | ▲More supplier flexibility | ▼CATL’s customer concentration advantage |
| Rival battery makers | ▲Potential order shifts | ▼Competing for CATL’s displaced business |
