New energy car power batteries are in short supply.

As the heart of new energy vehicles, power batteries have been the focus of attention in the industry. China is a big battery producer, but it is not a big battery producer. On the one hand, there are hundreds of domestic battery companies; On the other hand, can provide new energy car enterprises with less than ten power batteries, can be said to be a handful. When new energy vehicles exploded last year and this year, almost all car companies echoed the call that batteries were in short supply.

BYD, which owns the battery plant, is not immune. According to reports, BYD new energy vehicles in Shanghai suffered a return crisis, because the current Shanghai BYD "Qin" booking users due to BYD dealers in disguised price increases, a long time can not mention the awkward situation of the car, in this case, many booking customers back. According to the reporter's visit to the market, in Beijing Wufangqiao Beiqi New Energy 4S shop, because the battery capacity is insufficient, many consumers can only book cars, and it is still necessary to wait slowly on the road.

With such huge market demand, some new-energy car companies are planning to invest in their own battery plants. In this way, not only will the power battery, the core component that restricts the promotion of new energy vehicles, be in their own hands, but also avoid the widespread abuse of "do not know how to make batteries, do not know how to make batteries". The auto industry commentator Zhang Zhiyong believes that it is not impossible for new energy car companies to invest in battery plants, but considering their strategic direction and focus, they can fully invest in battery plants for companies that have capital and strength.

Three modes

At present, there are roughly three ways for new energy car companies to control power batteries: ownership, equity participation, and procurement. For car companies that own battery plants, such as BYD and Korea Hyundai Group, Tesla is planning to build its own battery plant in the United States. Because BYD has been producing mobile phone batteries, it has a relatively good battery production base and technology. At present, the batteries used by BYD's new energy models are all self-produced iron cobalt phosphate lithium batteries(also known as iron batteries). "To ensure timely delivery of new energy car orders, BYD is working on plans to expand battery capacity," said Wang Chuanfu, BYD's president. "

The new energy car companies participating in the battery factory include Beiqi New Energy and SAIC. Take Beiqi New Energy as an example. Since it was converted from a wholly-owned company to a joint-stock company in 2013, Beiqi New Energy has begun to "marry" companies upstream and downstream of the new energy automotive industry chain. Atieva, Siemens, SK, and ATL -- BaIC has incorporated the cutting-edge technologies needed for new energy vehicles through joint ventures and equity acquisitions. Especially in terms of batteries, Beiqi New Energy established a joint venture with South Korea's SK Group and ATL, the largest power battery company in China. In addition, Beiqi New Energy also holds a 24 % stake in Pulder Battery Co., Ltd., which mainly produces lithium cobalt acid, lithium iron phosphate, and ternary material batteries.

The last model is relatively more, that is, purchasing batteries directly from battery plants. For example, Jianghuai New Energy Passenger Vehicle Procurement Tianjin Lishen's 1,8650 ternary lithium battery, Chirui, Zhongtai purchased universal company batteries; At the same time, many foreign car companies also use this method, such as Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota are currently purchasing Panasonic batteries; BMW and Chrysler purchase Samsung SDI batteries, etc.; The all-new energy car, Great Wall, has also signed a deal with LG Chemical, a South Korean battery maker, to supply the Great Wall with more than 200,000 batteries installed in hybrid models starting in 2017.

Analysis of pros and cons

Although domestic new energy car companies have their own choices, they are not excluded from these models through the understanding of journalists. Zhangjinhan, deputy general manager of jianghuai passenger car marketing company, told reporters that at present, because the sales of new energy vehicles are not very large, jianghuai new energy passenger car will also acquire power batteries through procurement. In the future, if there is a breakthrough in the sales of new energy vehicles, Jianghuai Automobile does not rule out plans to invest in battery plants. Guhuinan, deputy general manager of guangqi chuangqi, told reporters that xuangqi new energy vehicle power batteries have accumulated a large amount of technology reserves through joint research and development with the battery factory. In the future, if new energy vehicles are added, they may also invest in various ways. Battery factory.

Yinchengliang, vice president of the automotive engineering research institute of Shanghai tongtong University, told reporters that now, the international large car companies are choosing multinational battery suppliers as supporting companies to obtain power batteries, and there are few car companies that independently produce batteries. Yinchengliang believes that there are two main factors that cause this phenomenon: First, car companies are optimistic about electric vehicles, but it is difficult to estimate the time when the sales of electric vehicles broke out, and the battery factory has a large investment and will occupy a large amount of funds. If the timing is uncertain, The impact on the enterprise is greater; Second, unlike batteries in electrochemical systems, where production equipment is hardly universal, battery technology is advancing rapidly. If the battery system changes in the future and its own investment is wrong, the impact on car companies will be catastrophic. "That's why car companies are cautious and hesitant about investing in battery plants. " said Yinchengliang.

For the hesitation of the car company, Zhang Zhiyong believes that the car company is not clear about its own strategic direction and focus. He said that if investing in a battery plant can help the competitiveness of automotive products, it should be achieved as a long-term strategic goal for automotive companies that have the strength and funds. Last year, more than 70,000 new energy vehicles were produced and sold. It is still far from an outbreak. In the long run, lithium batteries will be the main source of power for new energy vehicles in the future. "What is needed at a time when something new is emerging is entrepreneurship that can take risks, and if everything is clear, I'm afraid there is no chance. "Zhang Zhiyong said.

The future is difficult to predict

Because the future of batteries is uncertain, some companies that have already set foot in battery factories have begun to find various ways to find out where batteries are going. Tesla, for example, while producing pure electric sports cars, also introduced two battery products for households and companies, and formally joined the energy storage market. Some analysts believe that if the demand for cars in the future becomes less, Tesla will enter new industries, and the move to sell batteries may be its ticket into new areas. In May, BYD took the newly developed family energy storage system MINIES to the 5th China International energy storage Conference and Exhibition at Shanghai New International Expo Center.

Yinchengliang said that if a car company invests in a battery factory, the market for batteries can not only be prepared. If production capacity climbs quickly and the market does not follow suit for the time being, it needs to find a new market for the battery; On the other hand, the recycling of used power batteries in electric vehicles is particularly suitable for use as domestic energy storage batteries. If there is a battery factory, there may be new profit opportunities for car companies in this area.

While thinking about investing in battery plants, another new energy route must also be taken into account. Recently, the National "863" project energy conservation and new energy vehicles major project group leader Ouyangming told reporters that the Toyota Motor Corporation, represented by the international car companies, has been from the car's perspective to commercialize fuel cells have completely broken through. This lets our country car enterprise invest battery factory more one layer of concern. An industry insider who did not want to be named told reporters that China's new energy vehicle strategy is "pure electric drive", but this does not mean "pure electrochemical cell drive". If the cost of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is further reduced in the future, Our current battery development will probably take a detour.

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