Following last year’s “acupuncture” drama caused by the battery “acupuncture test”, the confrontation between the two major domestic power battery giants has been escalating since the beginning of this year.
Editor’s note: This article is to Die Zeit, the author: Li Zhuoling.
Following last year’s “acupuncture test” triggered by the battery “needle test”, the confrontation between the two major domestic power battery giants has been escalating since the beginning of this year.
At the BYD Chongqing new car launch conference held last week, Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD Co., Ltd., declared that the company has begun to supply blade batteries to the entire industry. “Almost every car brand you can think of, Both are negotiating cooperation with Verdi Battery, and blade batteries will be successively mounted on new energy models of mainstream brands at home and abroad.”
As soon as the words came out, the industry was hotly discussed. In the eyes of the industry, this move may mean that the “Bining” dispute has begun. From the previous “secret fight” for the right to speak of technology, it has been upgraded to a market “clear fight”. BYD has begun to fight for the market cake and initiate against the industry hegemon Ningde Times A full counterattack.
According to data released by the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance on April 9th, in the first quarter of this year, CATL continued to rank first in the cumulative installed capacity of domestic power batteries, accounting for 52.6%, while BYD despite Ranked second, but the loading volume is less than 1/4 of the Ningde era (12.22GWh), reaching 3GWh, accounting for 12.9%. Obviously, how to convert “negotiation and cooperation” into an effective market share is still one of the challenges that BYD is facing.
On April 9, Qiu Kaijun, the founder of Electric Vehicle Observer, told Times Weekly that it should still be difficult for BYD to catch up with the Ningde era. However, as vehicle companies accelerate their entry into the game, the entire power battery pattern may change. “Batteries may eventually be done by car companies themselves.” Qiu Kaijun said.
“Chasing Soldiers” BYD
As BYD used blade batteries to move from self-supply to external supply of the whole industry, its pursuit of market share in the Ningde era was put on the table.
In fact, before 2017, BYD, which started from battery, was still the champion of China’s power battery market. However, due to self-sufficiency, it missed the best time for power battery expansion. It was established by the Ningde era in 2011. Power battery companies are far behind.
According to public data, since reaching the top position of power battery supremacy in 2017, CATL’s market share has expanded from less than 30% that year to about 50% last year. It is reported that in 2020, the total installed capacity of power batteries in my country is 63.6GWh, of which the annual installed capacity of CATL will reach 31.79GWh.
In recent years, the awakened BYD is also accelerating the “counter-offensive”.
In March last year, BYD announced the establishment of five wholly-owned subsidiaries named after “Fuddy”, including Fuddy Battery. At the end of the same month, BYD “sheathed” the blade battery with “high safety” as its selling point, And started a battery safety debate with the Ningde era around the acupuncture test.
From the perspective of the industry, if the two parties were still mainly engaged in the game of discourse power such as technology, then, as the supply of BYD blade batteries accelerates, the two parties have truly joined hands in the market.
From the circle of friends, Ningde era, which currently occupies more than half of the market share, has covered most of the mainstream automakers in China. According to data from the Advanced Industry Research Institute (GGII), last year, the top 10 customers of Ningde era power battery installed capacity were Weilai, Yutong Bus, Xiaopeng, Tesla, Geely, Great Wall, etc., and the top ten customers accounted for the installed capacity. Over 50%.
For BYD, Wang Chuanfu revealed at a press conference on April 7 that Fudi Battery will provide developed car lithium-ion batteries to other companies, among which Fudi-produced batteries carried by the Hongqi brand have been shipped. Although in the partner PPT displayed by Wang Chuanfu that evening, except for the red flag, the others were replaced by “secret”, but according to it, “almost every car brand you can think of is negotiating cooperation with Verdi Battery.” , Including Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, etc. have been rumored to be “scandal targets.”
The pattern has changed?
It is worth noting that, in addition to BYD’s strong pursuit, in the general trend of electrification, there are many variables in the current power battery track.
From last year’s domestic power battery installed capacity data, in addition to the two giants of CATL and BYD, the top ten companies also include LG Chem, AVIC Lithium, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Panasonic, Funeng Technology, etc. Companies are grabbing a larger market pie by “binding” with car giants.
Among them, on April 6 this year, Volkswagen China’s strategic investment in Guoxuan High-Tech has been approved by the Securities Regulatory Commission; and at the end of February this year, Funeng Technology stated in response to investors’ questions that the SOP of the Mercedes-Benz project is progressing smoothly and will be in this year Smooth mass production. It is reported that in July last year, Daimler invested 700 million yuan in Funeng Technology.
At the same time, vehicle companies are also intensifying their competition in the hinterland, increasing their control over battery supply. In addition to strengthening cooperation with many battery manufacturers, and even joint ventures to build factories, self-developed battery and self-built battery factories have become new trend.
On April 9th, at the GAC Group Science and Technology Day, GAC Group announced its self-developed power battery system. Previously, in addition to Geely, Great Wall Honeycomb Energy, Tesla, Volkswagen, Daimler and other international giants have announced that they will build their own battery plants.
In response to this trend, many people in the industry told reporters that the battery is likely to be a car in the end.All enterprises did it themselves. The reason behind this is that in addition to the trade-offs for stabilizing production capacity and supply, there are also considerations for cost control. The control of battery costs will directly affect product competitiveness and profit in the future.
Based on the international market, industry leaders face greater challenges. Lithium battery analyst Wang Ke previously told Times Weekly that “Ningde Times is still a well-deserved global hegemon in terms of technology, quality, market, and capital. However, this position is being shaken. No one wants to see a long-term independence. Big battery company.”
According to the “New Energy Automobile Industry Chain Database” recently released by the Advanced Industry Research Institute, in 2020, the global TOP10 ranking of power battery installed capacity will show a clear competition pattern of China, Japan and South Korea. Among them, Chinese battery companies occupy a major global market share, but they are mainly concentrated in the country. International supporting customers are relatively lacking and urgently need to fill the vacancies; Korean batteries are developing rapidly and are eyeing.
At present, both Ningde era and BYD are accelerating their entry into overseas markets. Earlier, it was reported that the Preparatory Office (European Group) for the new factory of Fordy Battery is currently preparing to build the first battery factory overseas. In this regard, BYD told Times Weekly that a follow-up confirmation will be announced.
As for CATL, it also chose to build its first overseas factory in Europe. In October 2019, CATL’s first overseas factory in Thuringia, Germany officially started construction. At that time, it was expected to invest 1.8 billion euros in five years; At the end of last year, it was reported that it would invest US$5 billion to build a factory in Indonesia.
In this regard, a reporter from Times Weekly also interviewed Ningde Times, and has not received a response as of press time.
Under many variables, how the global power battery landscape will evolve remains to be seen.