(Yicai Global) Oct. 25 -- China's state-owned Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group, better known as JAC Motors, has expanded its partnership with Hefei Guoxuan High-Tech Power Energy to order more of the latter's batteries for new energy vehicles.

JAC Motors and Guoxuan penned a cooperation agreement under which the latter will provide the car firm with 4 gigawatt hours of lithium-ion batteries in 2019, the Hefei-based battery firm's parent Guoxuan Hi-Tech said in a statement yesterday.

Guoxuan will also upgrade its production lines to make lithium iron phosphate batteries from this year to 2020 to conform to the government's subsidy policy.

The pair will create battery systems with an energy density of over 140Wh/kg for electric passenger cars and commercial vehicles. They will also collaborate to come up with new marketing models, such as battery leasing.

JAC Motors and Guoxuan have partnered for 10 years. In 2010, the two parties started to mass-produce lithium iron phosphate batteries with an energy density of 95Wh per kilogram. Those were applied to the auto firm's first generation of NEVs, public data shows.

Editor: Emmi Laine