After the price rise of new energy vehicles, a number of two wheeled electric vehicles (commonly referred to as “electric donkey” by the people) have also issued price rise notices one after another.
Recently, maverick electric announced that due to the sharp rise in raw materials such as upstream lithium batteries, it raised the retail guidance price of all lithium battery products by 200 ~ 1000 yuan on April 1. Other brands also adjusted their prices one after another. Emma lithium battery models increased by 200 ~ 600 yuan; Yadi expects the price to rise by 100 ~ 200 yuan in April; Tailing is also expected to adjust the price. At present, the increase is unknown.
It is reported that the price rise of electric vehicles is mainly due to the rise in the price of upstream raw materials, resulting in an increase in production and manufacturing costs.
More noteworthy is that not only two wheeled electric vehicles, bicycles are also affected by the rise in raw material prices. According to the analysis of insiders, this may lead to the price increase of shared bicycles and shared electric vehicles, so as to offset the operating pressure brought by the increase of some costs.
manufacturer: the price increase does not cover the rising cost
Ms. Zhang, who has been engaged in the sales and repair of electric vehicles for more than 10 years, said that the prices of two wheeled electric vehicles have increased since last year. The store usually replenishes the goods once every half a month. The purchase price of each car is about 180 yuan higher than that of the last replenishment. “The manufacturer’s ex factory price is expensive. We can only passively adjust the sales price. Generally, we will increase the purchase price as much as the purchase price increases. In fact, there is no increase in profit. The prices of various brands will not differ too much.”
Since 2021, many two wheeled electric vehicle brands have adjusted their prices. In early November 2021, Emma and Yadi successively issued price increase notices, raising the wholesale and terminal prices of electric vehicles by 50 ~ 100 yuan.
“At present, the price of better lithium battery electric vehicles is three or four thousand yuan. Many manufacturers have raised the price. Our current price has not been raised, but it is estimated that it will be soon. If you want to buy it, you’d better buy it early.” A person in charge of a two wheeled electric vehicle manufacturer who asked not to be named told the reporter of China Economic Weekly.
In addition to the price increase, some two wheeled electric vehicle brands have also been out of stock. On the morning of April 11, No. 9 electric released a statement of shortage of some models, saying that at present, some models of No. 9 electric began to be out of stock in some regional markets. At the same time, the price increase originally scheduled for April 1 was also postponed to April 25.
For the price increase, Li Yan, CEO of maverick electric, said that the price increase is one of the means to deal with the price increase in the supply chain. If you want to deal with rising costs through other means, you can only integrate upstream and downstream. “Maverick electric doesn’t have enough volume, so the price rise is passive.”
Li Yan also said that even if the price rises, this range still can not cover the rising cost, and a certain profit needs to be sacrificed.
“I bought my electric car for two years and spent 2400 yuan at that time. If I want to change it in the future, the price range I can accept is within 3000 yuan. If it’s more expensive, I have to consider it.” Beijing citizen Mr. Sun told the reporter of China Economic Weekly.
Boss fan, a dealer of Yadi electric vehicles, said that although the current sales volume has not been greatly affected after the price increase, it is actually better to sell when the price is not increased. An Emma electric vehicle dealer also said that consumers of two wheeled electric vehicles pay more attention to performance and cost performance, and too much price increase will affect sales to a certain extent.
upstream: the price rise of raw materials is the main reason, and it will rise again this year
The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned two wheeled electric vehicle manufacturers who did not want to be named told the reporter of China Economic Weekly that, like the logic of price increases of fuel vehicles and new energy vehicles, the core factor of price increases of two wheeled electric vehicles is also the rise of raw material prices. Among them, the price increases of raw materials such as iron, aluminum and copper, lithium batteries, motors and other upstream materials account for the main reason.
Since the Spring Festival this year, affected by the international form and economic environment, the prices of raw materials such as aluminum ingots, lead, steel, copper, chemical industry, rubber and non-ferrous metals have continued to rise. Coupled with the impact of the epidemic outside China and the increase of logistics and labor costs, the prices of core components such as motors, batteries, tires, shock absorbers, frames and plastic parts of two wheeled electric vehicles have risen sharply.
In an interview with the media, the person in charge of a brand electric bicycle factory said that the increase in metal prices has increased the cost, and the price of a motor has increased by 20% ~ 30%. In addition to motors, the prices of lithium used in lithium batteries and chemical raw materials used in appearance parts are rising to varying degrees.
The relevant person in charge of Changzhou Wujin Jinshun electromechanical Co., Ltd. told the reporter of China Economic Weekly that the motor is the Beijing Dynamic Power Co.Ltd(600405) , which is the key component of electric vehicles and other products. “The raw materials of the motor include copper, iron and aluminum, which is expected to increase by 30% this year and next year.”
It is reported that at present, the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate, the main material of mainstream power batteries in the market, was only 50000 yuan / ton at the beginning of 2021, and rose to 290000 yuan / ton at the end of the year, with an increase of 480% in only one year. In 2022, the growth of lithium carbonate did not slow down at all. On April 14, the latest data of Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings Co.Ltd(300226) showed that the average price of battery grade lithium carbonate was 492500 yuan / ton.
Although the price of lithium is lower than before and the pressure on production costs has been relieved, according to the analysis of insiders, the supply of lithium carbonate will remain in a tight balance. “In the state of tight supply and demand, the price of lithium carbonate remains high. Due to China’s high dependence on overseas mines, the supply of lithium carbonate will remain in a tight balance.” Cheng Ling, an analyst at xinlune lithium, said.
Beijing Centergate Technologies (Holding) Co.Ltd(000931) new battery technology innovation alliance secretary general and the Puritan leader of the battery hundred people’s Association revealed that “for the two wheeled electric vehicle market, the cost of using lithium batteries is high and the supply continues to be in short supply. At present, the orders of several lithium battery suppliers of two wheeled electric vehicle brands in China have been arranged until the end of this year.”
The rise of lithium price has a great impact on electric vehicle manufacturers using lithium batteries, but lead-acid battery manufacturers are less affected.
According to Li Yan, CEO of maverick electric, the price of lithium battery has increased by 20% ~ 30%, of which lithium carbonate, the core raw material, has increased by about 9 times. However, if lead-acid batteries are used, the whole cost has increased by about 1% ~ 2% because the lead has not increased much.
He also suggested that the industry trend is to replace lead-acid batteries with lithium batteries. “If the cost of lithium batteries increases high, will it lead to the slowdown of lithium battery penetration?”
industry: sharing bicycles may also increase the price
The reporter of China Economic Weekly noted in the interview that not only two wheeled electric vehicles, but also bicycles are affected by the rise in the price of raw materials.
An executive of a bicycle manufacturer in Shenzhen admitted that he had experienced such a long rise in the price of raw materials for the first time since his employment. Aluminum ingot is the core component of bicycle, accounting for 20% ~ 30% of the cost composition of bicycle. Its price has increased from 13000 yuan / ton to 23000 yuan / ton, an increase of more than 80%.
Saitelaite (Foshan) plastic products Co., Ltd., a supplier of bicycle parts, mainly produces lamps and reflectors.
According to the relevant person in charge of the company, the prices of metal materials, plastics and other raw materials rose by 15%~20% as a whole, resulting in a significant increase in the production costs of the enterprise. In order to reduce the cost pressure, the ex factory price of products had to be increased by 5% ~ 10%.
The relevant person in charge of Changzhou Wujin Jinshun electromechanical Co., Ltd. told the reporter of China Economic Weekly that the price of rubber, as the main raw material for the production of bicycle tires, has been rising since the third quarter of 2020 and has been fluctuating at a high level. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the price of rubber reached a new high, up to 15425 yuan / ton.
According to the analysis of insiders, when the terminal inventory has not been digested, it still needs a process to fully complete the price increase in the market. It is expected that the downstream industry and market end will be affected in the future.
It is worth noting that the price rise tide of upstream industries may affect the sharing of electric vehicles and bicycles for people’s daily travel.
The two wheeled electric vehicle manufacturer Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co.Ltd(603787) recently released a performance forecast that the company expects to realize a net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 6.13 million yuan to 16.34 million yuan in 2021, a decrease of 85.77 million yuan to 95.98 million yuan compared with the same period of last year, a year-on-year decrease of 84% to 94% Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle Co.Ltd(603787) explained: “affected by the change in the rhythm of sharing travel, there is a large gap in the scale of the company’s direct sales business compared with the same period last year.”
In this regard, according to the analysis of insiders, the subsequent operation enterprises of shared bicycles and shared electric vehicles may need to increase the price in order to partially offset the operation pressure brought by the increase of costs.
The relevant person in charge of the above-mentioned two wheeled electric vehicle manufacturers who did not want to be named told the reporter of China Economic Weekly that according to the feedback of bicycle sharing enterprises downstream of their manufacturers, the current cost pressure is indeed greater than in the past. “Some enterprises have been considering price increases, but they haven’t heard whether or when they will rise.”
