Zhongxin Finance, March 23 (Ge Cheng) Since March, there have been constant news of new energy vehicle price hikes.

Recently, electric bicycles have also come to "join in the fun".

Photo by Ge Cheng of Xiaopeng City Showroom at Huaxi Live in Wukesong, Beijing

　　Since March 14, within a week, Tesla has “officially announced” price increases three times, with a range of tens of thousands of yuan; on March 21, Xiaopeng Motors announced a price increase of up to 30,000 yuan.

Some netizens said: "Reverse cutting leeks?"

　　On March 21, Mavericks Electric announced that it will raise the price of all lithium battery products on April 1, ranging from 200-1000 yuan.

"Buy now, don't wait!" became the most replies from netizens.

Price hike, why?

　　Since 2022, new energy vehicles have faced several rounds of cost pressure.

First, the "core" was deserted, then the "lithium" mang, and more recently, the "nickel" demon.

　　In early March, London Nickel staged an "epic" market, which once exceeded US$100,000 per ton.

As the market subsided, the price of nickel in London still reached US$47,000 per ton on March 21. Before the market broke out, nickel was only US$20,000 per ton, and the price more than doubled.

　　According to the research report of CICC, the price of nickel rose from 20,000 US dollars / ton to 50,000 US dollars / ton, and the cost of nickel raw materials for 8-series new energy vehicles with 60KWH single-car charging increased by about 10,000 yuan.

　　In addition to nickel, another important material for power batteries, lithium, is also in a rapidly rising market.

　　Taking the price of lithium carbonate, the main material of power batteries, as an example, at the beginning of 2021, the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate is only 50,000 yuan/ton, and by the end of the year, it will rise to 290,000 yuan/ton, an increase of 480% in just one year.

　　Entering 2022, the growth of lithium carbonate has not slowed down at all.

On March 17, the comprehensive market quotation of battery-grade lithium carbonate has risen to 480,000-520,000 yuan per ton.

　　According to estimates by UBS Evidence Lab, at present, the cost of batteries of most manufacturers is about to be equal to that of gasoline powertrains. Power batteries account for 25%-40% of the total cost of electric vehicles and are the most expensive electric vehicle components.

The rapid rise in the price of power battery materials has put a sharp increase in the production cost pressure of car companies.

　　In addition to materials for batteries such as nickel and lithium, chip shortages and declining subsidies have also contributed to the rapid rise in the price of new energy vehicles.

Starting in 2021, some automotive-grade chips have risen from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan, and their value has risen by more than 100 times.

The decline in subsidies will directly lead to the transmission of new energy vehicle prices to the consumer level.

Car companies and dealers: it is difficult to do without raising prices and withdrawing cars

　　Since 2021, problems such as battery material price increases and chip shortages have made car companies miserable.

　　Starting from March 14, new energy vehicle companies such as WM Motor, BYD, Tesla, Xiaopeng, Nezha, and Leapmotor have successively issued price increase announcements.

The price increase ranges from 1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan.

Tesla even raised the price of domestic Model Y models three times within a week, by tens of thousands of yuan.

In October 2021, the Nanjing Auto Show will welcome visitors to the exhibition.

Photo by Yang Bo

　　In addition to price increases, some car companies also choose to stop production of some mid-to-low-end models to make up for the loss of material price increases.

Dong Yudong, CEO of ORA brand, said in response to the suspension of orders for its black cat and white cat models: "After the sharp increase in raw materials in 2022, some models have brought huge losses to the company, and the loss of a single black cat exceeds 10,000 yuan."

　　At the same time, some new energy vehicle 4S stores are also facing the situation of "no cars to sell".

After visiting a number of new energy vehicle 4S stores, many sales staff told Zhongxin Finance that, except for the show cars, they have basically been sold.

　　"Look at the green show car. It was ordered by a customer two days ago. It was just moved there and was about to be cleaned up. Usually, it is difficult to sell a car of this color." The salesperson pointed to the car in the corner The show car told reporters.

　　"According to the customer's request, the doors are now locked and the deposit has been paid, so we can't do anything about it." The salesperson reluctantly refused the reporter's request to see the car again.

Expert: Restoring supply of raw materials will ease price increases

　　In response to the problem of rising raw material prices, the competent authorities and related enterprises are also actively making plans to promote the normal development of the industry.

　　At the recent symposium on the operation of the lithium industry and the price increase of upstream materials for power batteries, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology required upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain to strengthen the connection between supply and demand, work together to form a long-term and stable strategic cooperative relationship, and jointly guide the rational return of lithium salt prices. Great efforts will be made to ensure market supply and better support the healthy development of my country's new energy vehicles and other strategic emerging industries.

　　Some power battery manufacturers also said that they will adopt a diversified procurement plan to cope with the rising problem of raw materials.

The relevant person in charge of Honeycomb Energy said in an interview with Zhongxin Finance: "At present, the rise of battery materials is a major trend. We have always paid more attention to supply chain issues, so we also have our own layout in advance."

　　Some car companies "look for a different way" and use alternative fuel solutions to solve the problem.

Li Shufu, chairman of Geely Holding Group, once proposed that the legal status of methanol as a new type of clean and renewable energy should be clarified; the access and operation management of methanol vehicles should be strengthened; continuous innovation in methanol fuel and methanol vehicle technology should be encouraged. The special method of science and technology supports the development and application of a variety of clean energy technologies.

　　In response to the question of whether the price of materials will continue to rise, Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Federation, said that the price increase of raw materials for new energy vehicles is a cyclical behavior, and the current general increase in car prices is also a reflection of the rise in raw material prices.

With the recovery of the supply environment at the raw material industry end, the unfavorable factors of price increases will also be alleviated to a certain extent.

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