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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":732,"relatedVideos":733},112472633179508,"0ea48ce2-b430-44d6-a876-30f616eafebd","China’s Battery Kings: Diverging fortunes of CATL and BYD highlight raw material challenge","chinas-battery-kings-diverging-fortunes-of-catl-and-byd-highlight-raw-material-challenge","article/chinas-battery-kings-diverging-fortunes-of-catl-and-byd-highlight-raw-material-challenge",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":550,"content":560,"excerpt":710,"featured":51,"reporter":711,"_editable":715,"component":716,"seo_title":543,"categories":717,"visibility":724,"author_company":49,"featured_image":725,"seo_description":710,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":730,"formattedArticleDate":731},"4cd3a050-597c-40b4-91c9-a5d0b6d222fd","2022-06-22 00:00",[],[551],{"slug":552,"name":553,"content":554},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":555,"image":556,"bio":558,"linkedin":559},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":557},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":561,"content":562},"doc",[563,570,575,580,585,590,595,600,605,612,617,622,627,632,637,642,647,652,655,660,665,670,675,680,685,690,695,700,705],{"type":564,"attrs":565,"content":566},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[567],{"text":568,"type":569},"This year is panning out quite differently for China’s two electric vehicle kingpins: CATL and BYD.","text",{"type":564,"attrs":571,"content":572},{"textAlign":49},[573],{"text":574,"type":569},"BYD has seen its vehicle sales soar despite continued lockdowns in China, and has confirmed it will soon sell batteries to Tesla. CATL, however, has suffered due to investor concerns about falling margins because of its exposure to higher raw material prices.",{"type":564,"attrs":576,"content":577},{"textAlign":49},[578],{"text":579,"type":569},"Share prices for CATL have fallen by 11% this year, while BYD, by contrast, is up by 25%.",{"type":564,"attrs":581,"content":582},{"textAlign":49},[583],{"text":584,"type":569},"The performance highlights the benefits of vertical integration to automakers as well some of the downsides battery producers face as they struggle to pass on rising raw material costs to automakers.",{"type":564,"attrs":586,"content":587},{"textAlign":49},[588],{"text":589,"type":569},"CATL is dominant in the Chinese battery market but its margins have been squeezed between higher raw material prices and the prices it can sell its batteries at. Its gross margins fell to their lowest level since 2014 in the first half of this year.",{"type":564,"attrs":591,"content":592},{"textAlign":49},[593],{"text":594,"type":569},"While BYD also feels the impact of high lithium prices, because it makes its own batteries it can incorporate the battery margin and pass on the costs to its customers via higher vehicle prices. It has raised prices for its electric vehicles twice this year, by as much as $1,000 on some models, without any noticeable impact on demand.",{"type":564,"attrs":596,"content":597},{"textAlign":49},[598],{"text":599,"type":569},"BYD’s vertically integrated model is one that foreign automakers will be looking at closely as they decide whether to make their own batteries, enter into joint-ventures with battery manufacturers or merely buy on the open market.",{"type":564,"attrs":601,"content":602},{"textAlign":49},[603],{"text":604,"type":569},"As the battery market expands and competition increases, CATL could continue to get squeezed.",{"type":606,"attrs":607,"content":609},"heading",{"level":608,"textAlign":49},4,[610],{"text":611,"type":569},"Is capacity still king?",{"type":564,"attrs":613,"content":614},{"textAlign":49},[615],{"text":616,"type":569},"Lithium prices have risen by 400% in China over the past year, according to Benchmark’s Lithium Price Assessment, putting pressure on battery producers after years of battery price declines. Nickel prices have increased by around 8% this year.",{"type":564,"attrs":618,"content":619},{"textAlign":49},[620],{"text":621,"type":569},"Rising raw material prices led CATL to report a 24% fall in first quarter net income from a year earlier, with its gross margin hitting 15%, its lowest level since 2014.",{"type":564,"attrs":623,"content":624},{"textAlign":49},[625],{"text":626,"type":569},"CATL has said that it expects its margins to improve in the second quarter as it raises prices for customers and renegotiates contracts. It also added that it expects raw material prices to return to more “reasonable” levels.",{"type":564,"attrs":628,"content":629},{"textAlign":49},[630],{"text":631,"type":569},"But lithium prices show little signs of significantly cooling down. Prices for lithium carbonate on the Chinese domestic market continued to tick up this month as downstream demand recovers as COVID-19 restrictions eased in Shanghai.",{"type":564,"attrs":633,"content":634},{"textAlign":49},[635],{"text":636,"type":569},"Increasing its battery prices too much, however, may be difficult for CATL. It faces a crop of homegrown competitors, who may be lowering their prices to gain market share.",{"type":564,"attrs":638,"content":639},{"textAlign":49},[640],{"text":641,"type":569},"Rivals CALB and SVOLT plan to add 257 GWh and 240 GWh of battery capacity respectively by 2030, which would move them both into the top 5 manufacturers by capacity in China, as assessed by Benchmark’s Lithium ion Battery Assessment.",{"type":564,"attrs":643,"content":644},{"textAlign":49},[645],{"text":646,"type":569},"CATL can build gigafactories much cheaper than anyone else at the moment. Its capital cost is around RMB 350 million ($52 million) a gigawatt-hour, much lower than the average of $70-75 million for China, according to Benchmark.",{"type":564,"attrs":648,"content":649},{"textAlign":49},[650],{"text":651,"type":569},"But the difference in quality between CATL and these other challengers may be narrowing, making it harder to charge a premium.",{"type":564,"attrs":653,"content":654},{"textAlign":49},[],{"type":606,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"level":608,"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":569},"Lithium race",{"type":564,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":569},"One solution – for both CATL and BYD – is to invest in lithium projects, in an effort to secure supplies.",{"type":564,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":569},"CATL has invested in mining in Yichun in Jiangxi province, while BYD acquired 5% of Chengxin Lithium. It is also said to be close to acquiring six lithium mines in Africa, though the company has not officially commented.",{"type":564,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":569},"The other way for CATL to maintain its lead is to relentlessly innovate. Its share price picked up this month after it announced its new Qilin battery, which it claims has 13% more energy density than Tesla’s 4680 cell, using a cell-to-pack structure. CATL says it has a system-level energy density of 255 watt-hours per kilogram.",{"type":564,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":569},"The company has always stressed R&D and employs some 10,000 researchers. Whether it can translate that into continual breakthroughs will be a true test of its future.",{"type":606,"attrs":681,"content":682},{"level":608,"textAlign":49},[683],{"text":684,"type":569},"Vertical integration",{"type":564,"attrs":686,"content":687},{"textAlign":49},[688],{"text":689,"type":569},"Western automakers will be following what happens in China closely. It’s in their interest for more battery producers to challenge CATL’s dominance. Tesla’s deal with BYD will help it reduce its reliance on the battery giant example.",{"type":564,"attrs":691,"content":692},{"textAlign":49},[693],{"text":694,"type":569},"But copying BYD’s vertical integration model, which is enviable, is not easy.",{"type":564,"attrs":696,"content":697},{"textAlign":49},[698],{"text":699,"type":569},"It requires lots of capital and expertise, something that BYD has built up over decades since it started making mobile phone batteries in the 1990s. It is this experience that led to its unique Blade battery, which increases the energy density of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, boosting vehicle range.",{"type":564,"attrs":701,"content":702},{"textAlign":49},[703],{"text":704,"type":569},"Even Tesla, which is more vertical integrated than most western automakers, is struggling to make its own cells in Texas and Berlin.",{"type":564,"attrs":706,"content":707},{"textAlign":49},[708],{"text":709,"type":569},"That could leave BYD a winner, at least in China. BYD’s founder Wang Chuanfu put it well this month: “Whoever has more resources, healthy supply chain and great product advantages can win more market,” he said.","This year is panning out quite differently for China’s two electric vehicle kingpins: CATL and BYD. BYD has seen its vehicle sales soar despite continued lockdowns in China, and has confirmed it will soon sell batteries to Tesla. CATL, however, has suffered due to investor concerns about falling margins because of its exposure to higher […]",[712],{"slug":552,"name":553,"content":713},{"job_title":555,"image":714,"bio":558,"linkedin":559},{"filename":557},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"4cd3a050-597c-40b4-91c9-a5d0b6d222fd\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[718,721],{"slug":719,"name":720},"batteries","Batteries",{"slug":722,"name":723},"gigafactories","Battery & Gigafactory","private",{"id":49,"alt":726,"name":726,"focus":726,"title":726,"source":726,"filename":727,"copyright":726,"fieldtype":728,"meta_data":729,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/cfe34ee2b5/bm-byd-electric-car.jpg","asset",{"alt":726,"title":726,"source":726,"copyright":726},"Jun 22, 2022","22nd June 2022",[],[],1781195715949]