Who are the Chinese companies that dominate the battery market
Catl and Byd have come to concentrate 50 percent of the global battery market in their hands. LG and Panasonic withdraw. All the details
The international auto industry risks becoming dependent on China. In fact, only two Chinese companies, CATL and BYD, together have come to own a share of more than 50 percent of the global market for batteries for electric vehicles.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT NEWS
This is very significant news, which tells not only of the ever-widening gap between Chinese and Japanese and South Korean producers, but above all of China's dominance over a strategic supply chain for the energy transition. To adapt to the emission reduction plans, the automotive industry has embarked on a path of conversion to electric technologies, which however carries with it the risk of developing a profound dependence on Beijing.
CATL NUMBERS
CATL, the world's largest battery maker , which supplies automakers such as Tesla and Volkswagen, more than doubled its sales in the first eleven months of 2022 to 165.7 gigawatt-hours, a capacity capable of powering approximately 3.3 million medium-sized electric vehicles.
CATL's global market share thus reached 37.1 percent; in 2021 it was 32.2 percent.
BYD'S "SCARY" GROWTH
In the study by SNE Research, a South Korean company that carries out market analyses, there is also talk of the "frightening" growth of BYD, the second largest Chinese battery manufacturer, which also manufactures electric vehicles and seems intent on expanding into the maritime transport sector .
In January-November 2022, BYD's battery sales totaled 60 GWh of capacity, more than tripled year-on-year, bringing the company's market share to 13.6 percent of the worldwide total.
HOW ARE THE BATTERIES OF LG AND PANASONIC
In the first eleven months of last year, South Korea's LG Energy Solutions and Japan's Panasonic – second and fourth respectively by market share of battery manufacturers in the first half of 2022 – grew at a slower rate of 10 percent.
As a result, BYD displaced LG as the world's second largest battery maker.
The SNE Research study takes as a reference the capacity of the batteries installed in electric cars sold: it means that the ranking is influenced by the models placed on the market by the car manufacturers with which the producers have supply relationships.
HOW THE CHINESE ELECTRIC CAR MARKET WILL PERFORM
China is the largest electric vehicle market in the world. About 6.5 million cars were sold in 2022, writes the Financial Times , but the subsidies will be withdrawn in 2023. As a result, the China Passenger Car Association, a trade association, estimates a 30 percent slowdown in sales this year.
WILL THE COMPETITION DANGER THE LEADING OF CATL AND BYD?
As the Financial Times recalls, many industry analysts had predicted a drop in the market share of CATL and BYD due to increased competition both in China and abroad, and in particular in the United States (with the Inflation Reduction Act ) and in South Korea. However, that moment, notes the newspaper, "is yet to come".
SHORTAGES AND HIGH PRICES OF BASE METALS
One element that has significantly influenced the growth of Chinese battery manufacturers has been the shortage – and the consequent high prices – of base metals, such as nickel and lithium. Their high cost has prompted European automakers, such as Volkswagen and Volvo, to use cheaper Chinese batteries.
HOW CATL'S ACCOUNTS (GOOD) AND SHARES (BAD) ARE
In the second and third quarters of 2022, CATL's net profit nearly tripled, following a decline in the first due to higher raw material prices.
However, its share price fell 30 percent last year on investor fears about China's tech industry, which has come under regulatory tightening . CATL's market capitalization is around $140 billion.
CATL BATTERIES IN EUROPE
Last month the company started production of battery cells in Germany, the first outside of China. Later, it will open a 100 GWh factory in Hungary.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cina-batterie-catl-byd/ on Sun, 08 Jan 2023 06:48:01 +0000.