China News Service, July 24 (Zhongxin Finance and Economics Ge Cheng) "The cost of power batteries has accounted for 40%-50%, or even 60% of new energy vehicles." Recently, Zeng Qinghong, chairman of GAC Group, spoke at the 2022 World Power Battery Conference. "Aren't we working for the Ningde era now?"
In response, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Ningde Times, responded at the conference, "The hype of upstream raw materials has brought short-term troubles to the industry chain." He pointed the finger at the price increase of battery raw materials.
Both car companies and battery manufacturers feel that they "haven't made any money". Who has earned the money you spend on new energy vehicles?
The picture shows the GAC concept car.
Photo by Wang Hua
Power battery raw materials stage an "epic" market
In fact, Zeng Qinghong is not the only one who feels the rising price of raw materials and the "great pressure" of costs.
The CEOs of many new energy car companies, including Xiaopeng and Ideal, have publicly stated that the price increase of power batteries has been "beyond imagination", and the increase in battery costs in the second quarter is outrageous.
What followed was a round of "collective price increases" for new energy vehicles in the first half of the year.
In this round of price increases, the performance of various car companies varies, ranging from tens of thousands of yuan to thousands of yuan.
Since 2021, the development of new energy vehicles has pressed the "fast forward button", and the main raw materials of power batteries have ushered in a wave of "epic" market.
The price of lithium carbonate, an important material for power batteries, has been on the rise.
Among them, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has risen from 50,000 yuan in early 2021 to more than 500,000 yuan, an increase of about ten times in the past year.
Recently, the prices of some raw materials have not fallen sharply.
According to the quotation of the business agency on July 21, the quotation of battery-grade lithium carbonate is still more than 470,000 yuan per ton.
Except for Tesla, are all losing money?
"New energy OEMs other than Tesla are at a loss. It is a consensus not to make money. Battery companies pass cost pressure to OEMs, and OEMs are also forced to make batteries and raw materials." Zeng Qinghong said that car companies Also trying to reduce the cost of car manufacturing.
"We buy mines ourselves, lay out the industrial chain, and sell cheaper cars for customers."
China-Singapore Finance found that Zeng Qinghong’s remarks were true.
Whether it is the new car-making forces such as Weilai, Xiaopeng and Ideal, or traditional car companies such as BAIC Blue Valley and BYD, they are all in a state of loss or meager profits in the field of new energy vehicles.
The financial report for the first quarter of 2022 shows that Weilai has a net loss of 1.78 billion yuan, Xiaopeng has a net loss of 1.7 billion yuan, and Ideal has a net loss of 11 million yuan.
In addition, the profit of BYD, which has comprehensively transformed the manufacturing of new energy vehicles, is also not optimistic.
In the first quarter of 2022, after raising the price of its new energy vehicles by 3,000-6,000 yuan, its average net profit per vehicle was only about 2,400 yuan.
The profit of car companies is meager, and battery manufacturers are also "increasing revenue without increasing profits".
According to the financial report for the first quarter of 2022, CATL’s net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 1.493 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 23.62%; revenue reached 48.678 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 153.97%.
Are all losers in the industry chain?
"Lithium carbonate, lithium hexafluorophosphate, petroleum coke and other upstream materials for lithium batteries have seen prices skyrocket." Zeng Yuqun said that the hype of upstream raw materials has brought short-term problems to the industry chain.
"The current upstream price of the power battery industry chain is too high. The price pressure is directly transmitted to the OEMs, and the price of upstream materials has risen too much. The source is overseas mines." Zeng Qinghong said that the tight market supply and the excess of the industrial chain coexist.
He suggested, "With the rapid growth of the demand side of new energy vehicles, the national level should strengthen the supervision, guidance and overall coordination of the battery industry, improve the imbalance between supply and demand, and coordinate the price adjustment to a reasonable range."
Sichuan Times production workshop.
Photo courtesy of Yibin Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department
How to break the game?
"In fact, mineral resources are not the bottleneck of industrial development." Zeng Yuqun explained, "At present, the proven lithium resource reserves can produce 160TWh lithium batteries, which is fully enough to produce power batteries and energy storage batteries that are needed globally."
In Zeng Yuqun's view, technological innovation will bring new opportunities to the industry.
On the one hand, we will improve the development and utilization of my country's advantageous minerals through a series of technologies such as lithium extraction from ceramic soil.
On the other hand, within 10 years, the increase in the energy density of power batteries has brought about a 6-7 times increase in the cruising range, and the cost has dropped by 80%.
In addition, Zeng Yuqun also emphasized, "Most of the materials in the battery can be reused. At present, our nickel-cobalt-manganese recovery rate has reached 99.3%, and lithium has reached more than 90%. After 2035, we will recycle Materials in decommissioned batteries could serve a significant portion of the market.”
However, this claim has also been challenged in the industry.
According to media reports, a relevant person from the investment management department of Tianqi Lithium Industry stated that lithium recycling in lithium batteries is theoretically possible, but it cannot achieve large-scale recycling and reuse in commercial applications.
Regarding the claim that Zeng Yuqun's lithium recovery rate has reached more than 90%, the above-mentioned person said, "The laboratory should be able to do it, but I have not seen it commercially."
In this regard, the relevant person in charge of Ningde Times responded to Zhongxin Finance and Economics that, regarding this matter, "please go to our Bangpu to see it. If you can't do it yourself, it doesn't mean that others can't do it." According to the data, Guangdong Bangpu Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. is a holding subsidiary of CATL New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Its main business includes recycling business, resource business and material business.
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