CATL aims to plug into the global market

Battery maker based in Fujian sets sights on keeping up with surge in electric car sales

A dusty village on the outskirts of Ningde, a third-tier city in China's southeast, seems an unlikely place for the headquarters of a potential global leader in future auto motive technology.

Yet China's major industrial policy decisions - move up the value chain, clean up polluted urban skies, and shift to plug-in cars - have Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) poised to go from hometown hero to national champion, and beyond.