Lithium battery industry with huge price difference is "deep water"
Safety issues are frequently questioned. Leading power battery companies are involved in product quality controversy
"It turns out that the price difference for electric car batteries is so big." White-collar Xiaokai bought a two-wheeled electric car last year for the convenience of going to work. However, as the battery ages this year, the battery life of the electric car has declined, so he went online to check the electric car. The price of car lithium battery.
"I don't know if I check it. I was surprised when I checked it. It turns out that batteries are divided into many kinds of materials. Even if they are all lithium batteries, the price ranges from a few hundred to several thousand yuan."
The reporter learned through interviews that the prices of batteries with the same volts and milliamperes are uneven.
Since the beginning of this year, the prices of some first-tier brands of two-wheel electric vehicles have risen, and the price of replacing the original battery is often close to one-third of the price of the car.
But behind the high prices, the reporter learned from the Black Cat complaint platform that the current safety issues of lithium batteries have been frequently questioned. It is worth mentioning that Guoxuan Hi-Tech, a leading power battery company recently, has been involved in a product quality controversy, which has caused widespread concern in the market. .
Text, picture/Guangzhou Daily all-media reporters Xu Xiaofang and Wen Jing (except signatures)
High price and big price difference
The price of replacing the original battery is close to one-third of the car price
The reporter noticed that the current lithium battery market prices are uneven. Enter the keyword search of "electric vehicle battery" on the JD platform, and the results show that there is a big difference in the price of batteries with the same voltage and milliamperes.
The price difference of the same specification lithium battery can reach hundreds of yuan
For example, Tianneng’s 48V20AH lead-acid battery (4 packs) costs 638 yuan, while Tianneng’s 48V20AH lithium battery (including charger) is priced at 1,708 yuan.
The reporter browsed the search results page of JD.com and found that the price of lithium batteries (48V20AH) for two-wheel/three-wheel electric vehicles is mostly over 1,000 yuan, and the price range is between 1,000 yuan and 2,000 yuan.
And the same capacity of different brands of lithium batteries has a price difference ranging from 300 yuan to 600 yuan.
"Lithium batteries are more expensive than lead-acid batteries," a user of two-wheeled electric vehicles said. Lithium batteries are lighter in weight and relatively safe. Therefore, the new national standard electric vehicles generally use lithium batteries.
The reporter learned from the market that in the field of two-wheel electric vehicles, lithium batteries are occupying an increasingly important position.
Judging from the current technical route, the power lithium batteries of electric vehicles are mainly divided into ternary lithium batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries, and lithium manganate batteries.
The rapid spread of two-wheeled electric vehicles and new energy vehicles in my country has driven the vigorous development of the lithium battery industry.
"Electric vehicles mainly depend on the motor and the cruising range. The cruising range is related to the battery," said Mr. Zhang, a senior two-wheel electric vehicle player. At present, most two-wheel electric vehicles on the market use lithium batteries.
The price of large-brand, long-lasting models is 5,000 to 6,000 yuan.
Second-tier brands, models that meet daily use are priced between 2,000 yuan and 3,000 yuan.
"The prices of mainstream electric vehicles on the market are all above 1,000 yuan, and the starting price of Internet celebrity brands is above 3,000 yuan."
In addition, the reporter visited a number of large-scale brand electric car stores in the market and found that two-wheeled electric car products of the same brand and different models have a large price difference.
The reporter consulted the sales staff of the store on the two models with a price difference of more than 3,200 yuan. He said that in addition to the frame, the power is the biggest difference.
This 4599 yuan, the body battery is 48V24Ah, and this 1380 yuan, the body battery is 48V12Ah.
"The larger the battery capacity, the better the power and the more expensive the car."
Short supply of lithium batteries drives up prices
As the core of electric vehicles, lithium batteries often need to be replaced during use.
Citizen Ms. Zhang told reporters that the battery of the 2000 yuan electric car I bought before was not opened for two months in the winter and the battery was broken. “I spent 680 yuan to replace the battery at the brand sales store. I still traded the old for the new one, and the old battery was recycled to the store. NS".
Miss Zhang said that the maintenance staff told her that if the battery is not charged for a month, the battery will easily break.
If the battery of the above-mentioned 4599 yuan electric car needs to be replaced, what is the price?
The salesperson said that the original brand battery is about 1,200 yuan.
Later, the reporter consulted another brand store, an electric car priced at 3299 yuan. If the battery needs to be replaced, how much will it cost?
According to the customer service of the official flagship store of the brand online, if the original battery needs to be replaced, the price is 1,059 yuan, which is about one-third of the car price.
An electric vehicle salesperson said, “You can’t leave the battery completely empty and charge it from time to time.”
Player Mr. Zhang told reporters that since this year, the prices of two-wheeled electric vehicles of some first-tier brands have increased, "the increase is about 200 yuan per unit. With the introduction of the new national standard for electric vehicles, the price of new national standard models will be more expensive under the same configuration. ".
Industry analyst Zhang Xiang said that currently affected by the epidemic, some foreign lithium mines have experienced a decline in the production capacity of domestically produced lithium mines; in addition, the global new energy vehicles are developing rapidly, and the demand for lithium batteries is increasing, and the decline in production capacity has led to lithium batteries. The short supply has driven the vigorous development of the lithium battery industry and the price increase of lithium battery raw materials.
Quality storm is back
The product quality of leading power battery companies has been questioned
On December 1, the lithium battery sector index hit a new high. As of the close of the day, the sector index closed at 1,728.87 points, an increase of 0.44%.
In the sector, Industrial Co., Anzhong Co., and Tianqi Co., Ltd. reported closing daily limit.
Under the high rise of the lithium battery index, the quality of lithium batteries has also received great attention.
The reporter observed from the Black Cat complaint website that the lithium battery quality problems complained by consumers are mainly concentrated on the false propaganda of the battery type, lithium battery life and other issues. Some consumers said that the "graphene lithium battery" in the details page of a certain brand of electric vehicles is written. , The battery box also says it is a graphene lithium battery, but the battery inside is a carbon fiber lithium battery.” Other consumers said that the battery will be broken if the electric car has been driven for less than 2 months, and when the battery is sent to Merchant repairs, merchants refused to repair free of charge on the grounds of "water in the lithium battery".
On November 28, Lin Feng, the former general manager of Oupeng Technology, publicly stated that the company used Guoxuan Hi-Tech’s battery cell raw materials, and battery deflagration and spontaneous combustion accidents occurred, causing very large losses.
For a time, the quality of lithium batteries triggered heated discussions again, and Guoxuan Hi-Tech, the leader of domestic power batteries, quickly fell into a whirlpool of public opinion.
It is reported that Oupeng Technology will start batch supply to shared electric bicycle companies in April 2020.
Before the spontaneous combustion accident, Oupeng Technology had produced nearly 100,000 shared bicycle battery packs and purchased over 1 million Guoxuan Hi-Tech cylindrical batteries.
However, within a few months of launching the shared bicycle on the market, dozens of spontaneous combustion and explosion incidents of battery packs have occurred one after another.
Based on safety considerations, Oupeng Technology has recalled multiple batches of battery packs suspected of having safety issues. In late October 2020, according to the leakage of some batteries found in the returned battery packs, Guoxuan Hi-Tech issued a statement to Oupeng Technology. We reviewed the quality problem description materials and rectification opinions, and promised to complete the product quality rectification before November 30.
The lithium battery explosion accident related to the involved company occurred in April this year-the energy storage power station of Beijing Guoxuan Fuweisiguang Storage and Charging Technology Co., Ltd. in Beijing caught fire and exploded.
According to the Tianyancha APP, Beijing Forways is the largest shareholder of Guoxuan Forways, with a shareholding ratio of 75%.
Guoxuan Hi-Tech holds a 40% stake in Beijing Fuweisi.
Industry analyst Zhang Xiang told reporters that there are many reasons for lithium battery explosion and fire, including internal short circuit, external short circuit, lithium battery overcharge, high moisture content, and insufficient lithium battery negative capacity.
According to reports, a lithium battery is composed of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a separator, and an electrolyte. During the battery use process, the negative electrode precipitates lithium ions to form crystals.
The crystals may continue to expand like tree branches until they pierce the separator, eventually leading to a short circuit between the positive and negative electrodes of the battery.
In addition, some lithium batteries will deform or break the diaphragm when they collide, which will eventually cause a short circuit between the positive and negative electrodes of the battery and generate strong currents.
The heat generated by the strong current will cause the battery to swell or even explode.
industry analysis:
The terminal price of new energy vehicles is not greatly affected by the price increase of lithium batteries in the short-term
It is understood that the three most important parts of the cost structure of new energy vehicles are batteries, motors, and electronic controls.
The cost of batteries accounts for about 40% to 50% of the cost of new energy vehicles.
The rise in the price of lithium batteries during this period has an impact on the price of new energy vehicles?
Most people in the industry said that at least before the end of the year, there will be no major changes in the terminal prices of new energy vehicles.
“I used to give more gifts, but now I don’t have these gifts, and the time to pick up the car is longer than before.” Mr. Zeng, the citizen, just “landed” a domestic brand new energy vehicle, “Sales said. Affected by the chip".
It is worth mentioning that on November 24, according to Tesla’s official website, the pricing of the Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive version was adjusted from 250,900 yuan to 255,652 yuan; the Model Y rear-wheel drive version was adjusted from 276,000 yuan to 280,752 million yuan.
Both models have a price increase of 4752 yuan, and the configuration information remains unchanged.
Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the National Riding Federation, pointed out that, instead, the problem of chip supply has a greater impact on the new energy vehicle market.
This wave of price increases of lithium batteries is mainly due to the strong demand in the downstream new energy vehicle market and the limited supply of raw materials due to the impact of the epidemic.
He said that price increases are more of a game between battery manufacturers and automakers.
At the same time, he expects that with the gradual improvement of chip supply, the vehicle supply problem in the new energy vehicle market will be alleviated early next year.
According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in October, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 397,000 and 383,000 respectively, a year-on-year increase of 1.3 times.
From January to October, the production and sales of new energy vehicles were 2.566 million and 2.542 million, respectively, a year-on-year increase of 1.8 times.