What kind of efforts have been made in the power battery industry such as BYD/Ningde era?

From the first quarter of the faltering period to the second quarter's warm-up period, the power battery industry chain has finally stood on the eve of the eruption after experiencing pains and recovery.

From January to March, due to policy adjustments and fluctuations in upstream raw materials, lithium-ion companies were busy improving product performance while reducing production costs. Coupled with the sluggish production and sales of new energy vehicles, power battery shipments are not high, and it can be said that the first quarter of 2017 has become a period of power battery companies.

On the one hand, the first quarter of cobalt prices skyrocketing in the lithium power industry set off a series of price surges. In February of this year, domestic cobalt prices soared by 76.35% over November last year, causing lithium cobaltate and ternary materials to be difficult to obtain. After experiencing the skyrocketing price of lithium carbonate to cobalt, many materials and battery companies realized that they directly control the importance of upstream minerals and set off a wave of cobalt and lithium.

On the other hand, reducing the cost, increasing the energy density, changing the production line, and the low operating rate have become the main tone of the lithium battery business in the first quarter. At the same time, due to the decline in subsidies, car companies and power battery companies are still in the price of the game stage, battery production and shipments to reduce the market exacerbated the cold.

After the first quarter of faltering, the power battery industry ushered in new policies and market changes. The biggest impact on the entire battery industry chain is that the second quarter of the power battery companies will soon enter the warm-up period of close competition in the market.

One is to queue up IPOs. The Ningde Times, Zhuhai Yinlong, and Tianjin are among the representatives. This has led the industry chain of materials and equipment companies to go to the capital market.

The second is the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Take the two leading companies BYD and Ningde as examples. The former dismantles the power battery business and stirs the market structure of the Chinese and global power battery; the latter goes to IPO, joins the auto joint venture, and enters the supply chain of foreign auto companies such as Volkswagen and Hyundai. Frequently, it is imperative to develop momentum.

The third is to take the capital route. In the first half of this year, there are more cases of power battery getting married, or jointly establishing new energy auto funds with investment institutions. For some unlisted and slow-raising battery companies, whether they are selling to listed companies, using their financing channels or co-investment agencies, the most fundamental reason is to ease the pressure to reduce costs and funds.

To this end, the high-level lithium power grid has been sorted out for the first half of 2017, using the top ten keywords to reconcile the ups and downs in the first half of the year. The following is the previous article.

Cobalt prices skyrocketed

In the first quarter of 2017, cobalt prices skyrocketed in the lithium power industry to set off a series of price increases.

Positive electrode material precursor materials such as cobalt oxide, osmium tetroxide and other prices have soared, directly leading to ternary materials rising. At that time, the material company stated that prices have become normal one day, and companies are afraid to sign long-term orders; battery companies shouted: cash advance payment is still hard to find.

The average cobalt price in the domestic market reached RMB 376,500 per ton on February 20, which was an increase of 27.99% compared with the January offer price of RMB 294,166.66 per ton. Since the start of the cobalt price increase in November last year, the surge has reached 76.35%. The price of 4.35V lithium cobaltate thus rose to 260,000 yuan/ton, which is an increase of 18% compared with December 2016; during the same period, the price of power-type ternary material 523 was 155,000 to 160,000 yuan/ton, which rose by more than 5% at the end of the year.

Despite the steady decline in the price of cobalt in April, prices have started to rise again in the wake of demand from battery companies in June. This impact on the lithium industry chain is far-reaching. One is a cobalt material enterprise represented by Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd., and the stock has soared. It intends to use this as an opportunity to extend the industry chain directly into the cathode material; secondly, the price of cobalt is rising as a mirror, experiencing a sharp increase in the price of lithium carbonate to cobalt. Afterwards, many materials and battery companies realized that they had direct control over the importance of the upstream minerals and set off a wave of cobalt and lithium.

For battery companies, whether cobalt prices are skyrocketing or not, the cobalt resources themselves are scarce. Faced with policy adjustments and the "small target" of China's 2020 roadmap for power battery technology, the stable material supply chain has become this year. The important part of reducing costs.

Frequent policy

In the first half of 2017, policies that will have a major impact on the power battery industry will be introduced frequently. Including: New Energy Vehicle Subsidy New Deal, Catalogue of Recommended Vehicles for Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles, New Energy Vehicle Manufacturing Enterprises and Product Access Management Regulations, Action Plan for Development of Automotive Power Battery Industry, and Implementation of 2016 New Energy Vehicle Subsidy Fund Clearing Work Notifications, double-integration policy, foreign investment industry guidance catalog (revised in 2017) and so on.

At the same time, from the promotion to the application, the functional departments of the functional departments involved in the new energy automobile industry are planning more clearly and the division of labor is more clear. Regulations have become increasingly stringent, policies have been refined, and the new energy automotive industry is moving toward maturity.

The GGII analysis believes that the new energy policy is frequent and the first is to prove that the country is positive about the new energy automotive industry and its promotion determination. Second, after experiencing fraudulent incidents, the country's regulations on the new energy auto industry have paid more attention to it and the response has been quicker. The third is the strengthening of supervision, details of powers and responsibilities, and will safeguard the development of the new energy automobile industry.

IPO get together

In 2016, the output value and profit of the lithium-electricity industry chain increased significantly, and companies that started the IPO road in the lithium-electricity industry chain began to emerge. In the first half of 2017, they also accelerated noticeably.

According to incomplete statistics, there are currently 11 companies involved in the IPO business, including the Ningde Times, Zhuhai Yinlong, Tianjin Shares, Yantailai, Shenghong Electric, Anda Technologies, and Zhuhai Raceway. German Nano, Kaikin Energy, Hongyuan Pharmaceuticals, etc. Among them, Ningde Times, Dresdner Lithium, Zhuhai Yinlong, Tianjin Shares, Anda Technologies, and Kaijin Energy are currently on the market for guidance. Xingyun Electronics, Jinyinhe, Shenghong Electric IPO have been approved.

More and more lithium companies choose IPO, based on the industry background: 2015-2016 China's power battery market led by the new energy vehicle, entered a period of rapid development, the industrial chain output value growth year on year, profits have also increased significantly. In addition, power batteries have entered the expansion tide, pulling companies such as materials and equipment to increase production capacity. In the context of a warming market, if funds cannot keep up, there will be huge risks.

Companies that choose IPO to enter the capital market will play an active role in expanding financing channels, enhancing brand influence, and standardizing corporate operations.

In fact, the new three board companies play an important role in the IPO sprint. Compared with the huge expansion demand, the scale of the new three boards will definitely not keep up with the market financing. Some of the lithium battery materials companies originally listed on the New Third Board are seeking capital upgrading, and the process of delisting is also accelerating.

According to the Institute of Lithium-Ion Battery (GGII), the reasons for the selection of IPOs by the New Third Board lithium-ion battery companies are as follows: 1. The company’s share reforms have been completed when the new three board companies were listed on the New Third Board in the previous period, and the basis for preparing the GEM or the Main Board is better. In addition, the company's team has accumulated more experience and the project has accelerated; Second, the new three board companies are public companies, and the attention is high. Especially after the introduction of the innovation layer concept, many new three-board lithium-ion companies that meet the requirements have increased their attention. , conducive to its transfer.

BYD spin-off

On May 5th, Gaogong Lithium Power Grid was exclusively informed from BYD's internal and BYD's power battery will be officially supplied to the outside world.

BYD executives stated that BYD's automotive electronics business unit is committed to market-oriented changes. BYD's power batteries will be supplied to all automakers, and parts of BYD's vehicle manufacturing department will also be purchased globally. As for whether or not to separate and operate independently, it is still under planning.

Industry insiders generally believe that BYD's battery supply to the outside world will significantly change the pattern of China and global power battery market.

Regarding BYD's spin-off of its core power battery business advantage, GGII analysis believes that: 1. BYD's industrial chain is relatively long and has formed a large closed-loop and collaborative efficiency advantage in the early stage of the industry. However, due to the closed power battery market, BYD’s high-speed development has also been affected. A certain bondage. The open supply of power batteries will provide BYD with more room for development.

Second, the split of BYD's power battery business is conducive to the full competition of its power battery in the market, prompting it to continuously improve battery performance, and in addition to the independent management of its finances, capital operation and valuation will point to preferences.

Third, the BYD battery technology advantage is still in the lithium iron phosphate, the introduction of the new supply chain of the vehicle manufacturing sector, will also lay the groundwork for the follow-up three yuan passenger car market.

The risks are: 1. External sales of power batteries will allow downstream OEMs to form a more intense competitive relationship with BYD's vehicles. 2. There is a risk of leakage of power battery technology. 3. There is technically certain bottlenecks in the matching degree of BYD's power batteries with other vehicle manufacturers.

Ningde SAIC Marriage

On May 4th, Gaogong Lithium Power Grid was informed on the official website of the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce that SAIC Motor Corporation will establish a joint venture between Shanghai Automotive Group Investment Management Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary, and Ningde Times to establish two companies: SAIC Motor Battery Co., Ltd. SAIC Times Power Battery System Co., Ltd. On June 19, the two joint ventures held a groundbreaking ceremony in Liyang, Changzhou, Jiangsu.

The cooperation between Nanjing Ningde and SAIC was regarded by the industry as a strong alliance. From the perspective of the cooperation between the two companies, several signals were revealed: First, car companies are increasingly demanding core components, especially power batteries. The importance of power batteries has become more prominent, and car companies have begun to control their desires. appear;

The second is that the power battery companies also need to be deeply tied to the main engine plant. The current power battery market has entered the construction phase. After the domestic market started with the initial formation of the new energy vehicle market and the subsidies for retreat, the number of suppliers to the main engine plant is bound to decrease. In this important stage of market construction, the battery factory needs to tie up strategic cooperation customers and seek long-term development.

Gaogong Lithium Power Grid noticed that recently large-scale car companies and battery factories have reached a deeper level of strategic cooperation, such as Beijing Automotive New Energy and Guoxuan Hi-Tech, FAW-Bus and Chunlan New Energy, Zhongtong Bus and Watermar. , Dongfeng Motor and Ningde Times, National Energy and Ningde Times, Tang Jun Automobile and camel shares.

No matter from the perspective of cost or technology research and development, this kind of cooperation relationship is more favorable than the traditional upstream and downstream supply relations. But in a deep sense, this is not a brutal competition that grabs high-quality resources and customers and competes for market share and opportunities.

The first-tier dispute between new-energy car companies and power battery companies is also heating up.