The new energy vehicle industry has been suffering for a long time! As of March 18, the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate has exceeded 500000 yuan / ton, an increase of more than 80% over the beginning of the year and more than 500% year-on-year. Tesla, Byd Company Limited(002594) , Xiaopeng automobile, Nezha automobile and other complete vehicle manufacturers were unable to bear the heavy burden of raw materials and raised prices one after another. Some automobile enterprises even stopped receiving orders for low gross profit models.
On March 18, according to the Ministry of industry and information technology, the Department of raw materials industry and the first Department of equipment industry jointly held a symposium on the operation of lithium industry and the price rise of upstream materials of power batteries. The reporter of China Securities Journal learned from several insiders of lithium salt enterprises that the meeting was mainly to find out the current situation of the industry, advocate maintaining supply and stabilizing price, accelerate the development and recycling of lithium resources in China, and ensure the benign and sustainable development of the industry.
lithium resource products guarantee supply and stable price
It is understood that in order to ensure the supply and price stability of lithium resource products and promote the healthy development of new energy vehicles and power battery industry, the raw material industry department and the first equipment industry department of the Ministry of industry and information technology, together with the price department of the development and Reform Commission and the price supervision and inspection and Anti Unfair Competition Bureau of the State Administration of market supervision, organized and held a symposium on the operation of lithium industry and the price rise of upstream materials of power batteries on March 16 and March 17.
Industry organizations such as China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, China Automobile Industry Association and China automotive power battery industry innovation alliance, as well as relevant principals of key enterprises upstream and downstream of the industrial chain such as lithium resource development, lithium salt production, cathode materials and power batteries attended the meeting.
The meeting listened to the production, expansion and sales of key enterprises, analyzed the bottleneck problems faced by the current resource development and expansion of production and supply, and exchanged views on the market price formation mechanism of lithium salt products, production and consumption, the impact on the power battery industry, policies and measures to ensure supply and stabilize prices, in view of the recent sharp rise in the prices of lithium resources and lithium salt products.
The meeting required that upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain should strengthen the connection between supply and demand, work together to form a long-term and stable strategic cooperative relationship, jointly guide the rational return of lithium salt price, strengthen efforts to ensure market supply, and better support the healthy development of strategic emerging industries such as Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation Limited(600617) automobile.
Relevant industry insiders attending the meeting disclosed to the reporter of China Securities Journal that on the one hand, the raw material factory can directly sell lithium salt to end customers to reduce the circulation link and control the price difference between the factory and the factory; On the one hand, the supply of lithium resources in China can be increased.
the contradiction between supply and demand is difficult to alleviate in the short term
According to incomplete statistics, since 2022, more than 15 new energy vehicle enterprises have announced price increases, including Tesla, Byd Company Limited(002594) , Xiaopeng automobile and Nezha automobile, with price increases ranging from 5000 yuan to 20000 yuan.
China Securities News reporter recently visited a number of new energy vehicle sales outlets and learned that affected by the rising price of raw materials upstream of power batteries, the cost pressure of new energy vehicle enterprises is increasing, so they have to deal with it through the price rise Great Wall Motor Company Limited(601633) its Euler brand black cat and white cat stopped accepting new orders due to excessive cost pressure.
According to the data of Baichuan Yingfu, on March 18, the mainstream quotation range of China’s battery grade lithium carbonate (99.5%) market was between 514000 yuan and 520000 yuan, and the average price was stable to 517500 yuan / ton; The mainstream transaction price of China’s industrial lithium carbonate (99.2%) ranged from 497000 yuan to 500000 yuan / ton, and the average price level stabilized to 497500 yuan / ton, with a year-on-year increase of more than 500%.
Tight supply and demand is an important factor driving up the price of lithium salt. In recent years, the market demand for new energy vehicles has been expanding, while the supply of lithium salt mining is limited. According to the data of China Automobile Association, from January to February, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 820000 and 765000, with a year-on-year increase of 1.6 times and 1.5 times. In February, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 368000 and 334000 respectively, with a year-on-year increase of 2.0 times and 1.8 times.
Baichuan Yingfu pointed out that on the resource side, the supply of lithium concentrate is tight, the operation is at a high price, and the cost pressure is increasing. In addition, the reduction of the output of foreign mineral sources such as Australia has an impact on the production of some Chinese manufacturers; In terms of supply, the production raw materials are limited, the overall commencement is not saturated, the output increase is not obvious, and the manufacturers mostly implement the orders of old customers, so the tight supply situation is difficult to alleviate. The purchase of ternary materials is relatively active, and the purchase intention of lithium iron phosphate is general. It is expected that China’s lithium carbonate market will operate stably or rise slightly in the short term.
Many deputies to the National People’s Congress and CPPCC members of the lithium battery industry stressed the importance of ensuring the core raw materials of lithium and other new energy vehicle manufacturing links in the proposals and proposals of the two sessions of this year Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) chairman Zeng Yuqun suggested to speed up the exploration and development of China’s lithium resources and ensure the safety of the supply chain; At the same time, strengthen independent innovation and scientific and technological research, and improve the level of resource recycling and efficient utilization.
Tianqi Lithium Corporation(002466) Chairman Jiang Weiping suggested to speed up the green development of lithium resources in Western Sichuan. Specifically, strengthen the infrastructure construction of the mining area, ensure the production and living factors such as roads and hydropower, improve the attraction and participation of mining area development, introduce enterprises with higher mining capacity and processing capacity, and promote the development and utilization of mineral resources with high quality.
