Category: CATL

CATL sees record net profit growth in Q1 as lithium prices plunge

Lithium carbonate prices fell more than 50 percent in the first quarter, allowing CATL to see record net profit growth of 557.97 percent in the quarter.

CATL sees record net profit growth in Q1 as lithium prices plunge-CnEVPost

Chinese power battery giant CATL saw strong net profit growth in the first quarter, as raw battery material prices fell.

In the first quarter, CATL saw revenue of RMB 89.04 billion, up 82.91 percent year-on-year but 24.7 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of last year, according to its earnings report released today.

CATL sees record net profit growth in Q1 as lithium prices plunge-CnEVPost

Its net profit attributable to shareholders in the first quarter was RMB 9.82 billion, up 557.97 percent year-on-year but 25.2 percent lower than in the fourth quarter.

CATL's gross margin in the first quarter was 21.27 percent, up from 14.48 percent a year ago but slightly lower than the 22.57 percent in the fourth quarter.

CATL sees record net profit growth in Q1 as lithium prices plunge-CnEVPost

The first quarter is typically a slow quarter for the Chinese auto market, and a rare price war has put an additional dent in electric vehicle (EV) sales.

In the first quarter, retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles in China were 1,313,610 units, up 22.81 percent year-on-year, but down 26.73 percent from the fourth quarter, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

As a supplier with about 50 percent share of the Chinese power battery market, CATL's revenue in the first quarter was impacted by weak sales of NEVs.

However, CATL was among the first to profit as lithium carbonate prices fell sharply in the first quarter, with a record high 557.97 percent year-on-year net profit growth.

So far this year, the price of lithium carbonate, a key raw material for batteries, has not seen a single day of gains this year, according to data provider Mysteel.

The average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate fell to RMB 180,000 per ton today, while the average price of industrial-grade lithium carbonate was at RMB 135,000 per ton, down about 70 percent from their highs in November last year.

On March 31, the average price of battery-grade lithium carbonate was RMB 245,000 per ton, down 53 percent from RMB 517,500 per ton at the beginning of the year, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

CATL sees record net profit growth in Q1 as lithium prices plunge-CnEVPost

When the price of lithium carbonate decreases by RMB 100,000 per ton, ternary lithium batteries and LFP batteries will see marginal cost decreases of RMB 60 to RMB 70/kWh, respectively, said Haitong International Securities analyst Yang Bin's team in a March 30 research note.

In this scenario, battery costs would be RMB 4,200 to RMB 4,900 lower for an all-electric vehicle with a 70-kWh battery capacity, according to the team.

Analysts explain how falling lithium carbonate prices affect EV costs

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CATL, BYD’s sodium-ion batteries both to be in mass production within this year, report says

CATL and BYD's sodium-ion batteries to be put into mass production will both be a mix of sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, according to local media.

CATL, BYD's sodium-ion batteries both to be in mass production within this year, report says-CnEVPost

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

BYD's progress in mass production of sodium-ion batteries does not seem to differ much from CATL's, although it has not announced the latest progress.

CATL and BYD's sodium-ion batteries will both be carried in mass-produced vehicles within the year, and they will both be a mix of sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries, according to a report by local media 36kr today.

CATL's sodium-ion battery will be installed in the first model of Chery's new energy vehicle (NEV) brand iCAR, which is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the report.

CATL, BYD's sodium-ion batteries both to be in mass production within this year, report says-CnEVPost

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

The sodium-ion battery will also be used in Chery's small NEVs, such as the QQ Ice Cream and the Little Ant, the report said.

With the big rise in lithium prices last year, leading battery makers including BYD and CATL have accelerated the pace of sodium-ion battery development.

BYD's sodium-ion battery will also be in mass production in the second half of the year, and the first model to carry the battery will be the Seagull, the report said, citing a BYD source.

The battery will also be a hybrid sodium-ion and lithium-ion battery, according to the report.

Sodium-ion batteries cost less, but currently have low energy density.

The energy density of sodium-ion batteries is now about similar to that of lithium iron phosphate batteries around 2014, the latter of which can only support a range of about 150km in small micro vehicles, the 36kr report noted.

CATL unveiled its first-generation sodium-ion battery on July 29, 2021, saying that the energy density of the single cell had reached 160Wh/kg.

The company said at the time that the energy density of the first-generation sodium-ion battery was slightly lower than that of lithium iron phosphate batteries. However, it has obvious advantages in low-temperature performance and fast charging, especially in high-power application scenarios in alpine regions.

CATL's next-generation sodium-ion battery will have an energy density exceeding 200Wh/kg, it said at the 2021 launch event.

Sodium-ion batteries are expected to be carried in electric vehicles, said Huang Qisen, vice president of CATL research institute, at a forum related to sodium-ion batteries on November 29, 2022.

As for applications in passenger cars, sodium-ion batteries can generally meet the needs of models with a range of up to 400 kilometers, Huang said at the forum.

With its pioneering AB battery system integration technology, CATL has achieved a mix of sodium ion and lithium ion, allowing them to complement each other and thus increase the energy density of the battery system, Huang said at the time.

This approach is expected to enable sodium-ion batteries to support electric vehicle models with a range of up to 500 kilometers, he said, adding that models with that range account for 65 percent of the market share, meaning the use of sodium-ion batteries is promising.

CATL's sodium-ion batteries will first be used in Chery's models, it announced on April 16.

Last November, there were several rumors that BYD's sodium-ion battery would be mass-produced in 2023 and that the first model to be equipped with the battery would be the Seagull. But none of these rumors were confirmed.

Earlier today, LatePost reported that BYD had planned to put the sodium-ion battery in the new Seagull model in the second quarter of this year, but that plan has been delayed.

BYD responded by saying that the information was untrue, the LatePost story noted.

BYD launched the Seagull and started pre-sales of it on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18, and the model is the latest addition to its Ocean series.

The car is available in three versions, with pre-sale prices of RMB 78,800 ($11,450), 83,800 and 95,800 respectively.

Notably, the model uses BYD's blade batteries based on lithium iron phosphate chemistry with pack capacities of 30.08 kWh and 38.88 kWh, respectively.

The car is offered in two range versions, with the lower-priced two models having a CLTC range of 305 km and the highest-priced version having a range of 405 km.

The Seagull received more than 10,000 orders in the 24 hours after pre-sale began, BYD said yesterday.

($1 =RMB 6.8837)

Chery to be 1st automaker to adopt CATL's sodium-ion batteries

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CATL unveils Condensed Battery for electric aircrafts and EVs

CATL is collaborating on the development of Condensed Battery for civilian electric aircrafts, and the battery for EVs will have mass production capability this year.

CATL unveils Condensed Battery for electric aircrafts and EVs-CnEVPost

Chinese power battery giant CATL has unveiled its new battery technology, Condensed Battery, which is expected to be used in electric aircrafts and drive faster change in the electric vehicle industry.

CATL's Condensed Battery will feature high safety and high energy density, with single cells having an energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg, the company's chief scientist Wu Kai said today at the Shanghai auto show.

CATL unveils Condensed Battery for electric aircrafts and EVs-CnEVPost

CATL has built a micron-scale adaptive mesh structure that regulates inter-chain interaction forces for changes in the electrochemical reactions of ultra-high energy density chemistries, according to Wu.

The battery also introduces a series of innovations in isolation films as well as innovative processes, including a high-energy cathode and a new type of anode, he said.

CATL is currently working on a collaborative development of a civilian electric aircraft project and is implementing aerospace-grade standards in the process to meet aerospace-grade safety and quality requirements, he said.

The Condensed Battery will also be available for use in electric vehicles and will have mass production capability within this year, Wu said.

CATL unveils Condensed Battery for electric aircrafts and EVs-CnEVPost

CATL initially said at the Chongqing auto show in late June last year that the company was developing Condensed Battery, in addition to solid-state and semi-solid-state batteries.

On August 28, 2022, Wu said at a new energy vehicle industry conference that Condensed Battery has features including high safety, high reliability, and good cycle life.

As some background, 500 Wh/kg energy density is the highest we've seen to date for any power cell claimed to be able to be mass-produced.

Current mainstream lithium-ion battery cells have energy densities of just over 200 Wh/kg, and NIO's (NYSE: NIO) 150 kWh semi-solid-state battery, which is expected to be available in a few months, is 360 Wh/kg.

Higher energy density means greater R&D challenges and thus higher costs.

NIO's 150-kWh pack costs about as much as an ET5 sedan, the company's co-founder and president Qin Lihong said on February 11 at a face-to-face user event in Changzhou, Jiangsu province.

Chery to be 1st automaker to adopt CATL's sodium-ion batteries

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Li Auto unveils all-electric solution, 1st BEV model to feature CATL’s 4C Qilin Battery

By 2025, Li Auto's product portfolio will include a super flagship model, five EREVs and five BEVs.  |  Li Auto US Li Auto HK

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) today officially unveiled its all-electric solution, following the success of its extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) in China.

The company's all-electric solution, based on the 800 V high-voltage platform, enables a battery electric vehicle (BEV) to get 400 kilometers of range on a 10-minute charge, it announced today at an event on the first day of the Shanghai auto show.

With the launch of this solution, Li Auto will officially enter a phase of parallel development of its EREV and BEV product lines.

By 2025, Li Auto's product array will include one super flagship model, five EREVs, and five BEVs, it said.

By then, Li Auto's models for the market priced above RMB 200,000 will fully meet the needs of family users, the company said.

Li Auto's first all-electric model will be the world's first to feature 's 4C Qilin Battery, it said today.

C refers to the battery's charge multiplier, and 4C means that the battery pack can theoretically be fully charged in one-fourth of an hour.

CATL officially launched the Qilin Battery, or CTP (cell to pack) 3.0 battery, on June 23 last year, claiming to bring a new level of battery system integration to a new level.

The 009 is the world's first Qilin Battery-equipped MPV, and deliveries of the MPV equipped with this battery began yesterday. Li Auto previously said that its first BEV will also be an MPV.

The core technology of Li Auto's 800V solution is a high-voltage electric drive system based on third-generation power semiconductors, and the 4C supercharger pile will reach a maximum output of 480 kW.

By the end of May, Li Auto's first 25 supercharging stations will open for trial operation and be available to all electric vehicle owners, it announced today.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Each station will be equipped with three regular fast-charging piles and one 4C super-fast charging pile, it said.

By the end of this year, Li Auto will have completed the construction of more than 300 supercharging stations located along highways, it said.

By 2025, Li Auto will have 3,000 supercharging stations covering 90 percent of China's highway miles and major cities, the company said.

In addition to announcing the all-electric solution, Li Auto today also unveiled its latest-generation assisted driving system, AD Max 3.0, and said the software will be free for life.

Li Auto's current assisted driving systems include AD Max and AD Pro.

AD Max 2.0 is powered by NVIDIA's Orin X chip and Hesai's LiDAR, while AD Pro 2.0 is powered by Horizon Robotics' Journey 5 chip.

AD Max 3.0's all-scenario Navigation on ADAS (NOA) will kick off internal testing this quarter and will cover more than 100 cities by the end of the year, Li Auto said.

Li Auto delivers 20,823 vehicles in Mar, up 25% from Feb

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Chery to be 1st automaker to adopt CATL’s sodium-ion batteries

In the passenger car segment, sodium-ion batteries can generally meet the needs of models with a range of up to 400 kilometers, a CATL executive previously said.

CATL's sodium-ion batteries are not far from starting to be installed in vehicles, after the Chinese power battery giant unveiled the new batteries in July 2021.

CATL's sodium-ion batteries will first be used in Chery's models, the battery maker announced today.

Sodium-ion batteries will break through resource bottlenecks and is a cost-effective choice, CATL said, without giving further details.

CATL will hold a zero-carbon strategy launch event from 15:00 to 15:20 on the first day of the Shanghai auto show on April 18. Its booth at the event is 8B05 in Hall 8.2.

CATL unveiled its first-generation sodium-ion battery on July 29, 2021, saying that the energy density of the cell alone had reached 160Wh/kg.

The company said at the time that the energy density of the first-generation sodium-ion battery was slightly lower than that of the lithium iron phosphate battery. However, it has obvious advantages in low-temperature performance and fast charging, especially in high-power application scenarios in alpine regions.

CATL's next-generation sodium-ion battery energy density will exceed 200Wh/kg, it said in 2021, adding that the company has already started the industrialization layout of sodium-ion batteries and plans to form a basic industrial chain in 2023.

CATL did not mention the possible areas of use for sodium-ion batteries in its brief launch event at the time, although industry sources and analysts generally believe that the batteries, with their low energy density, will probably be used mainly in energy storage and two-wheeled vehicles.

On November 29, 2022, Huang Qisen, vice president of CATL research institute, said at a forum that sodium-ion batteries are expected to be carried in electric vehicles, the first time someone from the power battery giant publicly mentioned the prospect of using this new battery in passenger cars.

As for applications in passenger cars, sodium-ion batteries generally meet the needs of models with a range of up to 400 kilometers, Huang said at the forum.

With its pioneering AB battery system integration technology, CATL has achieved a mix of sodium ion and lithium ion, allowing them to complement each other and thus increase the energy density of the battery system, Huang said at the time.

This approach is expected to enable sodium-ion batteries to support electric vehicle models with a range of up to 500 kilometers, he said, adding that models with that range account for 65 percent of the market share, meaning the use of sodium-ion batteries is promising.

Notably, two months ago, an unnamed Chinese power battery maker had already begun fitting sodium-ion batteries into passenger cars.

On February 23, Hina Battery unveiled three sodium-ion battery cell products and announced a partnership with Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC), one of whose models became the first to carry sodium-ion batteries.

Hina Battery and Sehol, a joint venture between JAC and Volkswagen Anhui, have jointly built a test vehicle with sodium-ion batteries based on the latter's Sehol E10X model.

The test vehicle has a battery pack with a capacity of 25 kWh and an energy density of 120 Wh/kg. The model has a range of 252 km and supports fast charging from 3C to 4C. The battery pack uses cells with an energy density of 140 Wh/kg.

Hina Battery becomes 1st battery maker to put sodium-ion batteries in EVs in China

Chery to be 1st automaker to adopt CATL's sodium-ion batteries-CnEVPost

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China EV battery installations in Mar: CATL overtakes BYD in LFP market for 1st time this year

CATL's share of the LFP market in March was 39.47 percent, higher than 38.88 percent for , which was No. 1 in the LFP market in both January and February.

China's electric vehicle (EV) battery installations continued to grow last month, with CATL maintaining its lead and regaining the top spot over BYD in the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market.

China's power battery installations in March were 27.8 GWh, up 29.7 percent year-on-year and up 26.7 percent from February, according to data released today by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

CATL's power battery installed base in March was 12.49 GWh, continuing to rank first with a 44.95 percent share, up from 43.76 percent in February.

BYD installed 7.40 GWh of power batteries in March, ranking second with a 26.65 percent share, down 7.54 percentage points from 34.19 percent in February.

CALB saw a market share gain in March, as the company installed 2.86 GWh of power batteries in the month, ranking third with a 10.28 percent share, up 2.89 percentage points from 7.39 percent in February.

Gotion High-tech ranked fourth with a 4.51 percent share of 1.25 GWh installed in March, while Eve Energy ranked fifth with a 3.86 percent share of 1.07 GWh installed.

China's ternary lithium battery installed base in March was 8.7 GWh, accounting for 31.4 percent of the total installed base, up 6.3 percent year-on-year and up 29.8 percent from January.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries accounted for 19.0 GWh or 68.5 percent of the total installed base, up 44.4 percent year-on-year and up 25.3 percent from January.

In the ternary Li-ion battery market, CATL ranked first with 56.99 percent of the total installed base of 4.97 GWh in March.

CALB and LG Energy Solution ranked second and third in the ternary battery market with 16.82 percent and 6.52 percent shares, respectively.

In the LFP battery market, CATL topped the list with 39.47 percent of the installed base of 7.51 GWh in March, the first time it overtook BYD in this market this year.

BYD was second in the LFP market with 7.40 GWh installed in March, with a share of 38.88 percent. In both January and February, BYD ranked first in this market, with shares of 51.52 percent and 49.37 percent, respectively.

CALB and Gotion High-tech ranked third and fourth in the LFP battery market with 7.29 percent and 6.20 percent shares, respectively.

Global EV battery market share in Jan-Feb: CATL 33.9%, BYD 18.2%

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Tesla seeks to build new battery plant with CATL in US, report says

As with Ford's deal structure, would own and operate the plant while licensing technology from , according to Bloomberg.  |  TSLA.US

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Tesla is reportedly looking to build a new battery factory with CATL in the US, similar to the Chinese battery-maker giant's deal with Ford last month.

Bloomberg reported on the matter earlier today, saying Tesla discussed plans involving CATL with the US government.

Tesla representatives sought clarity on the Inflation Reduction Act rules that the US government is finalizing this week, and the company's senior director of global public policy Rohan Patel was among those involved in the discussions, according to the report.

Tesla hopes to build a plant wholly owned by it in partnership with CATL, similar to a deal Ford announced last month in Michigan, the report said.

Tesla is in expansion mode, deploying its $22 billion in cash to boost production and cut costs as it faces increasing competition, the report noted.

CATL produces lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a cheaper chemistry than the nickel-based batteries used in Western countries, and is key to the plan, the report said.

Tesla is considering building the battery plant in Texas to supply its electric vehicle assembly plant there, although the location has not been finalized, Bloomberg said, citing some people familiar with the matter.

As with Ford's deal structure, Tesla would own and operate the plant, while licensing technology from CATL, according to the report.

On February 13, Ford announced that it is investing $3.5 billion to build an LFP battery plant in Marshall, Michigan.

The plant, which is wholly owned by Ford, is the first battery plant to be wholly owned by a US automaker and will introduce LFP battery solutions for Ford's electric vehicle products.

The LFP battery plant is expected to start production in 2026 with an initial workforce of 2,500, Ford said last month.

The plant will have an initial design capacity of about 35 GWh per year and could supply power packs for about 400,000 Ford electric vehicles annually.

CATL is the world's largest maker of electric vehicle batteries, with a share far ahead of other peers.

CATL's installed battery volume in January-February was 25.5 GWh, up 34 percent from 19.0 GWh in the same period last year, according to data released yesterday by South Korean market research firm SNE Research.

The Chinese battery giant continues to rank No. 1 with a 33.9 percent share, the only global battery maker with a share of more than 30 percent.

Ford to build $3.5 billion LFP battery plant in Michigan with CATL's technology

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