Smart and Sustainable Electric Mobility
Zeekr 001 is the first production vehicle to be powered by CATL Qilin batteries. CATL Qilin battery is currently the mass-produced power battery with the highest energy density in the market.
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Deliveries of the Zeekr 009 MPV with CATL Qilin Battery had begun on April 17.
(Image credit: Zeekr)
Zeekr, the premium electric vehicle (EV) brand of Geely, started the delivery of the Zeekr 001 shooting brake model with CATL Qilin Battery, after starting the delivery of the Zeekr 009 MPV with the battery pack a month ago.
Deliveries of the WE version of the Zeekr 001 with the optional 140 kWh Qilin Battery began today, and the 1,032 km CLTC range makes the model the longest production EV in the world, Zeekr said in a press release.
The Zeekr 001's range addresses the mileage anxiety that plagues users and will allow them to enjoy a hassle-free travel experience, Zeekr said.
Zeekr was officially launched as an independent company in March 2021, with its first model, the Zeekr 001, launched on April 15, 2021, and deliveries beginning in October 2021.
On November 1, 2022, Zeekr's second model, the Zeekr 009 MPV, was launched, and its deliveries began on January 15.
On April 12 of this year, Zeekr launched its third model, the Zeekr X, which it hopes will become the benchmark for luxury compact cars.
CATL launched the Qilin Battery, or CTP (cell to pack) 3.0 battery, on June 23rd last year, claiming that its energy density can reach 255Wh/kg and can support the vehicle to achieve a range of 1,000 km.
On August 27 last year, Zeekr and CATL announced that the Zeekr 009 will be the world's first vehicle to be equipped with the Qilin Battery, while the Zeekr 001 will use the ultra-long range version of the Qilin Battery and will be the world's first production vehicle to be equipped with the 1,000 km range Qilin Battery.
On January 1, Zeekr launched the 2023 Zeekr 001, offering four base versions, including two WE versions, one ME version and one YOU version.
Zeekr offers a 140-kWh Qilin Battery option for the single-motor WE version with a 100-kWh battery pack, allowing the CLTC range to reach 1,032 km.
However, the Qilin Battery option is limited to only 1,000 units, and consumers will have to pay an additional RMB 103,000 ($14,790), meaning the Zeekr 001 with a range of more than 1,000 km will start at RMB 403,000.
On April 17, Zeekr announced that deliveries of the Zeekr 009 MPV with the CATL Qilin Battery begun.
Zeekr delivered 8,101 vehicles in April, up 279.08 percent from 2,137 in the same month last year and up 21.58 percent from 6,663 in March, according to data released earlier this month.
($1 = RMB 6.9653)
Zeekr begins delivery of Zeekr 009 MPV powered by CATL Qilin Battery
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BYD returned to the top spot in the LFP battery market with a 42.68 percent share in April, overtaking CATL's 33.65 percent.
CATL overtook BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) in China's lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market in March for the first time this year. Now, the latter has regained its top spot.
China's power battery installed base in April was 25.1 GWh, up 89.4 percent year-on-year but down 9.5 percent from March, according to data released today by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).
CATL's power battery installed base in April was 10.26 GWh, ranking first with a 40.83 percent share, down from 44.95 percent in March.
BYD installed 7.32 GWh of power batteries in April, ranking second with a 29.11 percent share, up 2.46 percentage points from March's 26.65 percent.
CALB installed 2.20 GWh of power batteries in April, ranking third with a share of 8.74 percent, down 1.54 percentage points from 10.28 percent in March.
Eve Energy overtook Gotion High-tech to rank No. 4 with 1.38 GWh of installed base and 5.48 percent share.
Gotion High-tech ranked 5th with 1.18 GWh installed in April and a 4.68 percent share. It ranked 4th with a 4.51 percent share in March.
China's ternary Li-ion battery installed base in April was 8.0 GWh, accounting for 31.8 percent of total installed base, up 83.5 percent year-on-year but down 8.3 percent from March.
The installed base of LFP batteries was 17.1 GWh, accounting for 68.1 percent of the total, up 92.7 percent year-on-year but down 10.0 percent from March.
In the ternary battery market, CATL ranked first with 56.22 percent of the installed base of 4.50 GWh in April.
CALB and Sunwoda ranked second and third in the ternary battery market with 17.29 percent and 6.07 percent shares, respectively.
In the LFP battery market, BYD regained the top spot with a 42.68 percent share by overtaking CATL with 7.31 GWh installed in April.
CATL installed 5.76 GWh in the LFP battery market in April, ranking second with a 33.65 percent share.
In March, CATL's share of the LFP market was 39.47, higher than BYD's 38.88 percent, the first time it has overtaken BYD in this market during the year.
Eve Energy and Gotion High-tech ranked third and fourth in the LFP battery market with 7.01 percent and 6.17 percent share, respectively.
China NEV sales down 2.6% MoM to 636,000 in Apr, CAAM data show
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Thailand is talking to many companies, not just CATL, but many in the battery industry, an official in the Southeast Asian country said.
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Thailand is in talks with CATL and other battery makers to build production facilities in the Southeast Asian country, a government official said.
"We are talking to many companies, not only CATL but many companies in the battery industry," Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary general of Thailand's Board of Investment (BOI), said, according to a May 3 Reuters report.
"This is one of our goals. That we would like to attract battery cell producers to set up their factory in Thailand," Therdsteerasukdi said.
CATL currently has 13 production sites worldwide, including 11 in China, one in Hungary and one in Germany, information on its official website shows. The company currently has no production facilities in Southeast Asia.
CATL is the world's largest power battery maker, with a 35 percent market share globally in January-March, the only one with a share of more than 30 percent, according to a report released by South Korean market research firm SNE Research on May 3.
As the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, Thailand has been looking to become a regional hub for electric vehicle production.
Thailand is currently the world's 10th-largest auto manufacturing economy, and its local auto production is dominated by Japanese automakers, including Toyota and Isuzu Motors.
According to the Thai government's plan, Thailand plans to convert about 30 percent of its annual vehicle production capacity to EVs by 2030.
Over the past few years, Thailand has been attracting investment from several EV companies, mainly Chinese, including Great Wall Motor and BYD.
On May 13, 2022, CATL announced that it had signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with Thailand's Arun Plus to collaborate on battery-related businesses in the ASEAN region.
Under the agreement, CATL will license CTP technology to ArunPlus, and the two companies will promote the application of CTP technology on the ground in Thailand and around the world.
Arun Plus, the EV subsidiary of Thai state energy group PTT, and CATL will supply battery products to Horizon Plus and other EV brands, according to a CATL press release at the time.
Horizon Plus, a joint venture between Arun Plus and Foxconn, plans to produce EVs in Thailand in 2024.
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CATL's battery is expected to maintain its No. 1 position as it is in high demand in passenger cars such as the Tesla Model 3, Model Y, SAIC Mulan, and the Chinese commercial vehicle market, according to SNE Research.
Global battery installations for electric vehicles (EVs) maintained strong growth in the first quarter, with China's CATL and BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) continuing to hold the top two positions.
In the first quarter, global EV battery consumption totaled 133.0 GWh, up 38.6 percent from 95.9 GWh in the same period last year, according to a report released yesterday by South Korean market research firm SNE Research.
Among them, CATL installed 46.6 GWh of batteries in the first quarter, up 35.9 percent from 34.3 GWh in the same period last year.
The Chinese power battery giant continued to rank No. 1 in the world with a 35.0 percent share, down from its 35.8 percent share a year ago and up from its 33.9 percent share in the January-February period.
CATL's battery is expected to maintain its No. 1 position as it is in high demand in passenger cars such as the Tesla Model 3, Model Y, SAIC Mulan, GAC Aion Y, and the Chinese commercial vehicle market, SNE Research said.
BYD installed 21.5 GWh of power batteries in the first quarter, up 115.5 percent from 10.0 GWh in the same period last year.
The company ranked second with a 16.2 percent share in the first quarter, up from 10.4 percent a year earlier and down from 18.2 percent in January-February.
BYD is gaining popularity in the Chinese domestic market with its price competitiveness through a vertically integrated supply chain, including self-supply of batteries and vehicle manufacturing, SNE Research said.
BYD is known to enter the South Korean market soon following Europe, drawing attention to the change in its growth trend, SNE Research added in the report.
LG Energy Solution's power battery installation from January to March was 19.3 GWh, up 37.5 percent year-on-year.
The South Korean company ranked third in the world with a 14.5 percent share, down from 14.6 percent a year earlier.
Japan's Panasonic was fourth with a 9.0 percent share, South Korea's SK On was fifth with a 5.3 percent share and Samsung SDI was sixth with a 4.9 percent share.
China's CALB, Gotion High-tech, Eve Energy and Sunwoda ranked seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth respectively, with shares of 4.3 percent, 2.2 percent, 1.8 percent and 1.4 percent respectively in the first quarter.
Global EV battery market share in Jan-Feb: CATL 33.9%, BYD 18.2%
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The top 10 power battery manufacturers include 6 Chinese companies, 3 Korean companies, and 1 Japanese company.
The post Global Power Battery Installation Ranking in Q1 2023 – CATL First appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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It will be a mix of LFP and sodium-ion.
The post CATL and BYD sodium-ion batteries will be put into a mass-produced car in Q4 2023 appeared first on CarNewsChina.com.
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.
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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.
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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 is collaborating on the development of Condensed Battery for civilian electric aircrafts, and the battery for EVs will have mass production capability this year.
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 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 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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