Recently, the shortage of raw materials and high prices of power batteries have forced car companies to raise the terminal price of products. In order to ensure the stable supply of power batteries, car companies have set foot in the upstream industrial chain and strengthened cooperation to control costs.
power battery in short supply
“Since the beginning of this year, the price of power batteries has increased by 15% – 20%. Some large manufacturers have to grab battery orders.” The head of a well-known electric vehicle marketing department disclosed. At present, most of the production lines of battery manufacturers are in the state of full production and full sales, and the batteries just off the production line are soon pulled away and sold out.
The rapid development of new energy vehicles and energy storage industry has driven the demand for power batteries. GGII predicts that by 2025, the global penetration rate of new energy vehicles will reach more than 25% and the global shipment volume of power batteries will reach 1550gwh; At the same time, the inflection point of the energy storage market is accelerating. It is expected that the global shipment of energy storage batteries will reach 416gwh in 2025.
The electric transformation of traditional car enterprises has accelerated, and the new forces of car manufacturing are growing day by day. Recently, Weima automobile, Hezhong automobile, Zero run automobile and Gaohe automobile successively submitted materials for listing in Hong Kong.
Volkswagen expects that by 2030, half of the cars sold worldwide will be pure electric vehicles, and the sales volume will reach at least 5 million; In the Chinese market, Volkswagen plans to deliver about 1.5 million new energy vehicles by 2025. BMW group revealed that its mass production and trial production of pure electric vehicles will reach 15 models in 2022; The “new generation” model based on the new framework will be put into trial production in 2024 and unveiled in 2025; By the end of 2025, BMW Group plans to deliver 2 million pure electric vehicles worldwide.
“The production capacity of high-quality batteries in China is limited. Some high-end model batteries are customized. In order to deliver vehicles on schedule, some car enterprises can only increase the price to ensure the battery supply.” The person in charge of a car enterprise said. Tesla CEO Elon Musk predicts that the battery will become a “limiting factor” in the development of the industry in 2-3 years.
“The development speed of new energy vehicle market is far faster than the industry’s expectation. The products of first-line battery manufacturers such as Byd Company Limited(002594) , Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) and so on are very popular. Although battery manufacturers step up the construction of factories to expand production capacity, it will take time for the release of new production capacity. It is expected that China’s battery capacity will continue to be released after 2023, and the tight supply situation will be alleviated at that time.” A new energy industry analyst said.
battery manufacturer clamped in the middle
For power battery enterprises, soaring raw material prices are the challenges they need to face. According to the data of Baichuan Yingfu, on March 23, the quotation of battery grade lithium carbonate in China was 517500 yuan / ton; The quotation of industrial grade lithium carbonate in China was 497500 yuan / ton, with a year-on-year increase of more than 480%.
Recently, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) repeatedly raised the price of power battery Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) relevant person in charge said: “the price of upstream raw materials has risen sharply, and the company has dynamically adjusted the price of some battery products accordingly.” Byd Company Limited(002594) as early as the end of October 2021, the price of co8m and other battery products increased by no less than 20%.
“Battery manufacturers are caught in the middle. Although the cost of raw materials has risen sharply, the price of battery products has increased too much and they are worried about losing the market.” Mr. Liu, the person in charge of a second-line battery manufacturer in Guangdong, told the China Securities Journal that the head battery factory has relatively stronger bargaining power for upstream resources and has more resource reserves. 2、 Due to limited funds, the third tier battery factory did not dare to hoard a large number of goods, but could only accept high current price raw materials, and the profit space was seriously squeezed.
The rise in battery costs will eventually be transmitted to car enterprises, which has triggered the recent price rise of car enterprises. According to incomplete statistics, after the Spring Festival, more than 20 car companies announced price increases due to the rising prices of raw materials such as batteries. Among them, Tesla raised the price three times, and many models increased by 1 Shenzhen Zhongheng Huafa Co.Ltd(000020) 000 yuan Byd Company Limited(002594) the second price increase since this year, ranging from 3000 yuan to 6000 yuan; The prices of products of new forces such as Xiaopeng automobile and ideal automobile increased by more than 10000 yuan.
Chen Shihua, Deputy Secretary General of the China Automobile Industry Association, said that the price of raw materials deviated from the normal relationship between supply and demand. The pricing of upstream enterprises should return to rationality, and automobile enterprises should also stabilize their footing.
vehicle enterprises expand upstream
In order to ensure the stability of the battery supply chain, car companies have arranged upstream.
Byd Company Limited(002594) owns the whole industry chain of power battery, semiconductor and vehicle R & D and production, and is at the forefront of the industry in the upstream layout Chengxin Lithium Group Co.Ltd(002240) 3 announced on March 22 that Byd Company Limited(002594) will be introduced as a strategic investor by means of directional issuance of shares. It is planned to raise no more than 3 billion yuan. The two sides will carry out long-term cooperation in the field of lithium products.
In terms of raw material purchase and sales cooperation, Byd Company Limited(002594) plans to purchase lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium metal and other products from Chengxin Lithium Group Co.Ltd(002240) and the monthly demand quantity shall be adjusted according to the actual demand; In terms of raw material processing cooperation, Byd Company Limited(002594) lithium resources that need to be processed by a third party shall be entrusted to Chengxin Lithium Group Co.Ltd(002240) for processing under the same conditions Chengxin Lithium Group Co.Ltd(002240) promises to give priority to ensuring the lithium salt processing capacity of Byd Company Limited(002594) under the same conditions; At the same time, the two sides cooperate in upstream mineral resources, jointly look for high-quality mineral resources, drive in-depth cooperation in upstream and downstream business and technology of the industrial chain, and ensure supply stability and cost advantage.
On March 21, Volkswagen announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.Ltd(603799) , Aoyama group, and Volkswagen formed a joint venture with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.Ltd(603799) , Aoyama holdings to jointly invest in the development of nickel and cobalt resources in Indonesia, build a nickel and cobalt raw material manufacturing system for new energy power batteries with global competitiveness, and build an advanced power battery raw material manufacturing base. It is understood that the joint venture plans to build an annual production capacity of about 120000 tons of nickel metal and about 15000 tons of cobalt metal, which can meet the supply of nickel and cobalt raw materials for about 160gwh batteries.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co.Ltd(603799) set up a downstream joint venture, which is mainly engaged in nickel cobalt sulfate refining, ternary precursor and ternary cathode material production and manufacturing, and strengthen the technological innovation coordination of the whole industrial chain of precursor and cathode material, so as to jointly build an internationally competitive integrated manufacturing platform for new energy lithium battery materials.
Volkswagen said that this cooperation will help to achieve the long-term goal of reducing the battery cost of Volkswagen Group by 30% – 50%, and continuously improve key performance such as power battery energy density through technical cooperation.
In view of the rising cost of raw materials, Chen Shihua suggested strengthening the connection between upstream and downstream supply and demand of the new energy vehicle industry chain. Competent government departments and relevant industry associations actively organize and guide upstream and downstream enterprises to carry out industry self-discipline, advocate the formation of long-term and stable strategic cooperation between industries and enterprises, and avoid excessive short-term fluctuations in raw material prices affecting business plans. At the same time, accelerate the output of upstream projects under construction and build a reserve system as a whole; Accelerate the construction of recycling system, strengthen the traceability management of power batteries, standardize battery recycling channels, and speed up the construction of standard system for echelon utilization and recycling.
