Samsung Note 7 pit Han Lithium Battery Factory

A friend of mine has been having a strange experience lately. The plug-in hybrid, which he had chosen when he was studying for his driver's license, was recently shut down. Prior to this, the model has no major problems in reliability, market reputation, or safety. But it just can't be bought right away.

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

After many inquiries, the seller explained that due to the continuous explosion of the most recent Samsung Note7 mobile phone due to battery spontaneous combustion, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not allow cars to produce commercial Korean batteries. The company is currently trading for a new lithium battery supplier. It will not arrive so soon for a while and a half, so it will be temporarily discontinued. It doesn't matter, just wait for the new supplier's battery parts to arrive in a month!

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

Dude, a design flaw in a mobile phone led to a "self-ignition door," and lithium batteries for electronic products and car power systems are essential things that can't be reached. Samsung Electronics this hand, actually killed the scale of billions of Korean Lithium battery supply! But is it really that amazing?

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

Netizens used the famous game "GTA 5" to draw a spoof Samsung Note 7 picture-the mobile phone actually became a grenade

But look at the problem. Look at the surface! Here, I will examine the underlying reasons for this.

In the era of personal portable electronics before the rise of the concept of new energy vehicles, Samsung and LG relied on their predictable dumping policies to rule the Chinese lithium battery market for many years. But it is after the domestic push for the new-energy car industry that South Korean companies are making a lot of money.

Relying on government subsidies and sloping policies, domestic new energy vehicles have developed rapidly. The industry's indispensable lithium battery components, it's market demand is also growing. This gives South Korean companies that have occupied the Chinese market first, with the convenience of "close to the tower".

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

The rise of lithium batteries in South Korea is inseparable from the explosive growth of China’s “cottage phone era” personal electronic products.

Over the years, South Korean lithium-ion battery companies, including LG Chemical and Samsung SDI, have not only struggled to increase the capacity of local companies but have also settled in China to set up a joint or wholly-owned lithium-ion battery factory. As important equipment with high added value, the lithium batteries produced by South Korean companies has also brought hundreds of millions of profits to their production companies while meeting the huge demand of the Chinese market.

Originally, as the current South Korean government's attitude toward China has become increasingly hot, Sino-ROK relations seem to be good. The two sides also signed a free trade agreement and announced industrial cooperation. However, a shadow called THAAD has been hovering over the relationship between the two countries. In the first half of this year, after South Korea announced that it would consider deploying THAAD systems on the peninsula because of the North Koreanspecial threat, relations between the two sides began to plummet.

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

The THAAD system is known as the defense system, but itsspecial is powerful and can spy on targets over China. As a result, it becomes a camera hidden in front of your door, which directly endangers China's national security.

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

A signed agreement, of course, will not be abrogated. But now, the good times for South Korean companies are indeed coming to an end.

As early as March 24, 2015, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has launched the "Standard Conditions for Automobile Power Battery Industry", which will be implemented on May 1, 2015. At that time, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology adopted the voluntary declaration and testing of enterprises to test and qualify for inclusion in the "New Energy Vehicle Promotion and Application Recommended Vehicle Catalogue". From January to April 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released three batches of enterprise catalogs, a total of 25.

The catalog was not intended at first, but it was just like a list of quality product recommendations. At this stage, because listing does not have any additional benefits, it is only a simple product honor for the company. At the same time, because the application and testing require companies to provide battery monomers and battery systems for related tests, the cost is high and time-consuming, so many companies do not pay attention. Samsung SDI and LG Chemistry also rely on the consistent reputation and control of their own products in China, and they have adopted an attitude of "more than one thing is less".

However, everything ended on April 29 this year.

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

Lithium batteries for power produced by Samsung SDI and LG chemistry. LG, which is also one of Tesla's battery suppliers, is relatively less "ugly" than Samsung

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

On the same day, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a supplementary notice on the application of enterprises that meet the "Standard Conditions for the Automobile Power Battery Industry", linking the battery new national standard with the new energy vehicle promotion catalogue, which is equivalent to a mandatory standard and becomes a power battery enterprise. The only threshold for entering the new energy vehicle market. Immediately after the state announced the adjustment plan for new energy subsidies in May, it was generally interpreted as being related to the catalog. This has led to the phenomenon that power battery companies have "grabbed" the fourth batch of catalogs. LG and Samsung also realized that the event was not good at this time and rushed to apply.

However, how can this kind of temporary attitude, and the current political environment after the economic and trade between the two countries, still pass?

The fourth batch of catalogs was announced on June 20. A total of 31 companies were passed, but there were no LG and Samsung. The official explanation for LG and Samsung is that its power lithium battery failed to enter the directory because the product safety was temporarily unable to meet the standards. And foreign battery companies want to enter the directory, in addition to product testing requirements, but also to meet the requirements of local plants and R&D personnel. For this reason, both companies have accelerated their work in building factories in China, hoping to be approved in the next batch of catalogs. At this time, the South Korean government announced that it would deploy the THAAD anti-missile system, which is equivalent to pushing LG Chemistry and Samsung SDI into desperation.

Deep analysis: Samsung Note 7 pits behind Han Lithium Battery Factory

Samsung Electronics ' "spontaneous combustion door" is famous, so it is inevitably exaggerated by the public.

And just at this time, the Samsung Note7 spontaneous combustion event with great public influence broke out ... So, for the public, it is not surprising that the understanding of "Samsung's mobile phone pits Korean lithium batteries" was made.

A problem no company should ignore.

The author learned from an industry insider that the fourth batch of power battery catalogs is not the last to end, but it has watershed significance. First of all, in the previous four batches, most of the power companies have been shortlisted and it will become more and more difficult to enter. Second, due to the lack of access to the catalog, the catalog will be implemented at the end of the year. This is bound to cause two South Korean battery manufacturers to suddenly lose the Chinese market and will suffer huge losses. On this occasion, together with Samsung SDI's previous factory in Nanjing and LG Chemical's plant in Xi'an, the total investment in the two factories was close to US$ 1 billion. Failure to access the catalog will make it difficult for its products to gain a share of the Chinese market. This series of losses can be described as extremely heavy.

The economy has always been linked to politics, and countries around the world can not go beyond it. As a company, especially a multinational enterprise, it should have a keen political sense of smell.

Imagine if Samsung SDI and LG Chemical had completed their qualifications for entry into the catalog as early as last year. Today, why would they be easily expelled from the Chinese market for such "low-level" reasons?

What is almost certain now is that if the South Korean government does not stop deploying the THAAD system, or does not make satisfactory concessions and compromises to China in other fields, then whether it is retried several times later, the names of Samsung and LG, it is unlikely to be printed on the list of enterprises of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The page contains the contents of the machine translation.