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Category: eV
Panic selling of lithium carbonate just won’t stop
Lithium carbonate prices continue to decline, leading to a heavy wait-and-see mood among downstream customers, who are reluctant to place large orders.
The price of lithium carbonate has dropped by half from five months ago, with panic selling not stopping.
Battery-grade lithium carbonate prices in China fell RMB 12,500 per ton ($1,818 per ton) today, bringing the average price down to RMB 300,000 per ton, according to Mysteel.
Industrial-grade lithium carbonate also fell by RMB 12,500 per ton today, leaving the average price at RMB 260,000 per ton.
Compared to yesterday's average prices, battery grade lithium carbonate and industrial grade lithium carbonate fell by 4 percent and 4.59 percent respectively, the new biggest drop of the year.
The price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has fallen 49 percent compared to RMB 590,000 per ton on November 21 last year, and the drop this year is about 40 percent.
Lithium carbonate is still being sold off at an accelerated pace, a report in local media Yicai today quoted an unnamed industry source as saying.
The continued decline in lithium carbonate prices has led downstream customers to shy away from placing large orders, with a heavy wait-and-see mood, the source said.
On March 20, a company in northwest China's Qinghai province dropped its sell offer for battery-grade lithium carbonate to RMB 280,000 per ton, and some local battery-grade lithium carbonate ex-factory prices dropped to RMB 250,000 per ton, the report noted.
As lithium prices continue to fall in China, some analysts previously said the drop will not last long as imports become more attractive.
Overseas lithium products have seen a significant premium, which could support prices for lithium products in China, said CITIC Securities in a March 7 research note.
Notably, Yicai's report today said there have been withdrawals of lithium carbonate orders in overseas markets, which has further pushed down the price of lithium carbonate.
A month ago, it was reported that CATL was pushing a lithium rebate program to car companies, with some cells to be settled at RMB 200,000 per ton of lithium carbonate.
CATL acknowledged the plan on March 9, but did not mention the base prices.
CATL's lithium sharing plan was not motivated by a price reduction, but rather that the company already owns some mineral resources and does not want to reap windfall profits, the company said.
CATL's proposed price benchmark of RMB 200,000 per ton for lithium carbonate has further lowered market expectations for the price, accelerating the panicked drop in lithium carbonate prices, Yicai's report today quoted several industry sources as saying.
($1= RMB 6.8742)
Lithium prices see biggest drop this year in China as decline accelerates
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CATL has begun mass production of Qilin Battery, report says
Deliveries of Zeekr's Zeekr 009 MPV, the world's first vehicle to be powered by the Qilin Battery, are expected to begin in the second quarter.
(Image credit: CATL)
Chinese power battery giant CATL's Qilin Battery has achieved mass production and has a 13 percent higher capacity than 4680 batteries in the same volume, local media outlet The Paper reported today.
As the world's first vehicle to be powered by the Qilin Battery, deliveries of Zeekr's Zeekr 009 MPV are expected to begin in the second quarter, 1-2 months behind the battery's mass production, the report said.
A high percentage of consumers who ordered the Zeekr 009 opted for the version with the Qilin Battery, a Zeekr source said, adding, "This surprised us."
On June 23, 2022, CATL officially unveiled its highly anticipated CTP (cell to pack) 3.0 Qilin Battery, which it said brought battery system integration to a new level.
The Qilin Battery allows volume utilization to exceed 72 percent and energy density to reach 255 Wh/kg, easily allowing vehicles to achieve a range of 1000 km, CATL said at the time.
With the same chemistry system and the same pack size, Qilin Battery delivers 13 percent more power compared to 4680 batteries, achieving an overall improvement in range, fast charging, safety, life, efficiency, and low-temperature performance, according to CATL.
Last August 27, Zeekr and CATL announced that the Zeekr 009 MPV will be the world's first vehicle to carry the Qilin Battery, and the Zeekr 001 will use an ultra-long range version of the Qilin Battery, which will be the world's first production vehicle to carry the 1000-km range Qilin Battery.
In a post on its WeChat account at the time, Zeekr said that deliveries of the Zeekr 009 with the Qilin Battery are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023, while the Zeekr 001 with the battery will be available in the second quarter of 2023.
"With its 140-kWh battery pack, the Zeekr 009 ME version sets a global record for a mid to large size MPV achieving an all-electric range of 822 kilometers," The Paper quoted Liu Changyan, CATL's executive president of China passenger vehicle business, as saying.
In addition to Zeekr, several other vehicle brands, including Li Auto, Neta, Lotus and AITO, have previously said they will use CATL's Qilin Battery.
It is worth noting that the Qilin Battery is a CATL innovation in pack structure, not in battery chemistry. This means that both ternary batteries, as well as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, can use this pack structure.
The Qilin Battery can achieve energy densities of 255Wh/kg with ternary cells and 160Wh/kg with LFP cells, CATL previously said.
CATL's innovation was named the best invention of 2022 by Time magazine in the US, according to information shared by the battery maker on Weibo on December 30 of last year.
CATL unveils Qilin Battery, says it can easily achieve 1,000 km vehicle range
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Qiantu inks deal with Mullen to tap US market, K50 supercar to be rebranded as Mullen GT and GTRS
Mullen has acquired Qiantu's North and South American intellectual property and distribution rights, allowing the assembly and distribution of the Qiantu K50 in the Americas. | Mullen Automotive Inc
(Image credit: Qiantu)
Qiantu inks deal with Mullen to tap US market, K50 supercar to be rebranded as Mullen GT and GTRS
Mullen has been granted Qiantu's North and South American intellectual property and distribution rights, allowing the assembly and distribution of the Qiantu K50 in the Americas.
Qiantu Motors, which is almost forgotten in its home market of China, is partnering with an American electric vehicle (EV) maker to bring its electric supercar back to life.
Qiantu recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with Mullen Automotive to expand into the Americas, according to a press release from the Chinese startup today.
Qiantu will leverage its strengths in vehicle design, technology development, and process innovation, combined with Mullen's manufacturing and sales strengths in the Americas market, to bring new EV options to consumers in the Americas, the release said.
Qiantu's partnership with Mullen dates back to 2019, when the two partnered on the marketing of the Qiantu K50 in North America.
With the signing of the latest partnership agreement, the Qiantu K50 will transition from the marketing phase to a substantial production and sales phase, the release said.
The partnership area will also be expanded from the North American market to include the entire Americas, according to the release.
Separately, Mullen said in its March 20 press release that it has been granted the North and South American intellectual property and distribution rights for Qiantu and its affiliates, allowing assembly and distribution of the Qiantu K50 in the Americas.
Mullen will begin its program to re-engineer and re-design the product to meet requirements for US certification and customer expectations for today's supercars, with final assembly in Mishawka, Indiana, the US EV maker said.
These modifications will be consistent with Mullen's current vehicle design language in the Mullen FIVE and Mullen FIVE RS.
To ensure supercar status, the car will also feature an updated powertrain, targeting a 0-60 mph time of less than 2.0 seconds and a top speed of more than 200 mph.
(Image credit: Mullen)
Qiantu, a wholly owned subsidiary of CH-Auto Technology Co Ltd, was founded in 2015 and was one of the first EV startups in China.
Qiantu's first model, the Qiantu K50, was launched in 2018 at a then subsidized price of RMB 686,800 ($99,860), but the model did not earn recognition for the company and was discontinued in November 2020.
On December 18, 2021, Qiantu held a strategy sharing session at its plant in Suzhou, marking its return after a two-year hiatus.
On June 6, 2022, Qiantu announced the start of pre-sales in China for its second model, the Qiantu K20, a two-door, two-seat hatchback with a pre-sale price range of RMB 86,800 to 149,800.
On October 24, 2022, Qiantu and Appollen EV held a launch event in Malaysia to showcase and start pre-sales of the Qiantu K50, Qiantu K25, and Qiantu K20.
They were renamed S1, A1 and A2 respectively in Malaysia, with the Qiantu K25 making its global debut and not previously launched in China, the company said at the time.
($1 = RMB 6.8772)
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China NEV insurance registrations for week ending Mar 19: BYD 38,414, Tesla 18,712, NIO 1,775
Insurance registrations for China's NEVs were 113,000 last week, up from 108,000 the week before.
Insurance registrations for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in China increased last week compared to the previous week, with a mixed performance from major EV makers.
From March 13 to March 19, insurance registrations for all passenger vehicles in China were 321,000 units, up from 308,000 units the previous week, according to figures shared by several car bloggers on Weibo.
Insurance registrations for NEVs were 113,000 last week, up from 108,000 the week before.
BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) vehicles continued to see the most insurance registrations, with 38,414 last week, up from 37,141 the previous week.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) vehicles saw 18,712 insurance registrations last week, up from 17,032 the week before.
NIO was 1,775 vehicles last week, down from 2,170 the week before.
NIO guided for first-quarter deliveries between 31,000 and 33,000 units earlier this month, meaning March deliveries are expected to be between 10,337 and 12,337 units.
The company's insurance registrations for the first week of March, which included February 27 and February 28, were 3,345 units.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) vehicles registered 5,438 insurance units last week, up from 4,243 the previous week.
XPeng (NYSE: XPEV) had 1,296 vehicles last week, down from 1,635 the week before.
Zeekr posted 914 units last week, down from 1,043 units the previous week.
China NEV insurance registrations for week ending Mar 12: BYD 37,141, Tesla 17,032, NIO 2,170
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