CATL claims that it is optimizing its production lines as a major step in its continuous cost reduction efforts, as it aims to bring battery cell costs down to just $56/kWh by the end of the year. This is nearly half what most battery cells cost today and – assuming pack costs remain stagnant – would mean its standard lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for vehicles will be comfortably under the $100/kWh mark on this timeframe. $100/kWh is considered a key turning point for electric vehicles because it brings sticker price of the vehicle in line with internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, bringing total cost of ownership (TCO) down further over the lifetime of the vehicle, but also bringing the initial cost…