The power battery layout may become the next outlet

　　In mid-May, Volkswagen Group announced that it will jointly build a battery factory in Europe with its partners. Volkswagen Group CEO Diess said bluntly that this decision "will become an important milestone in the future development of the Volkswagen Group."
　　From seeking cooperation with battery suppliers to building battery factories by ourselves, under the wave of new energy development, how to have a stable and excellent source of power batteries has become a new direction for domestic and foreign auto companies.
　　Battery manufacturers have become "favorites"
　　to cooperate with professional battery manufacturers to purchase batteries, which is currently the main way for OEMs to realize the supply of electric vehicle batteries.
　　At the end of 2018, Daimler announced that it will promote the company's electrification transformation through a power cell procurement plan worth more than 20 billion euros; it is expected that by 2022, more than 130 electrified Mercedes-Benz models will be launched. Passenger car products.
　　Volkswagen, which regards electrification as its main direction, has also selected China's CATL, South Korea's SK Innovation, LG Chem and Samsung SDI as its power battery suppliers. Among them, CATL will supply batteries for pure electric vehicle products in China.
　　Overseas car companies such as BMW and Volvo have also successively chosen CATL for cooperation in power batteries. In July 2018, BMW Brilliance and Ningde Times signed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement". According to the agreement, Ningde Times became BMW Brilliance's strategic partner in the field of lithium-ion batteries and will provide power for the next-generation power batteries of BMW Brilliance's new energy vehicles. core. In May of this year, Volvo also included Ningde Times in its power battery supplier system. Ningde Times will work with LG Chem to provide lithium-ion batteries for Volvo's next-generation electric vehicles and Polestar vehicles.
　　Power battery supply restricts vehicle production capacity
　　There are technical thresholds and industry barriers in the production of power batteries. For car companies, leveraging professional battery manufacturers is a better way to quickly meet the supply of power batteries. However, three-electric technology is the core field of electric vehicles. Statistics show that the cost of batteries accounts for 30% or even 50% of the cost of a complete vehicle. For such key components, car companies are naturally unwilling to rely too much on external suppliers.
　　In fact, as more and more OEMs join the ranks of electrification, the supply of power batteries is gradually facing a situation of more monks and less food.
　　According to foreign media reports, because LG Chem cannot supply enough batteries, Audi is planning to reduce the scheduled production capacity of the pure electric SUV product e-tron. In this regard, Volkswagen Group CEO Diess also urged power battery partners to increase production capacity and build a super battery factory.
　　Tesla, the "number one traffic" in electric vehicles, also faces the constraints of insufficient battery production. Panasonic serves as the exclusive supplier of Tesla's automotive power batteries, providing batteries for Tesla's Model S, Model X and Model 3. A few days ago, Panasonic said that with the mass production of Tesla Model Y in 2020, the batteries produced by the company may not be enough to meet the development needs of Tesla. In April of this year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also publicly stated that the speed at which Panasonic produced batteries hindered the expansion of Model 3 production.
　　OEMs build their own battery factories
　　In order to reduce their dependence on external battery suppliers, it has gradually become a trend for OEMs to build battery factories.
　　As early as September 2018, the Volkswagen Group released news that it planned to build its own battery factory in Europe to produce solid-state batteries, and it is expected to start mass production between 2024 and 2025. In fact, Volkswagen is not the first to eat crabs when building its own battery factory. At the end of last year, Daimler publicly stated that it plans to invest 1 billion euros to build a power battery production network covering 8 power battery factories on three continents. Among them, the first power battery factory in Kamenz, Germany has been put into production.
　　Domestic car companies have chosen the path of joint ventures with battery manufacturers to ensure a stable supply of batteries. In December 2018, Geely Automobile stated that its subsidiary Zhejiang Jirun will establish a joint venture with Ningde Times to engage in the research and development, manufacture and sales of batteries, battery modules and battery packs, and provide a stable supply of core power batteries for Geely's new energy vehicles .
　　Joint ventures with domestic mainstream car companies are also the consistent practice of Ningde era. At present, CATL has successively entered into joint ventures with BAIC, SAIC, GAC and Dongfeng Motor. For example, Pride, a joint venture between Ningde Times and BAIC Group, mainly supplies battery packs for BAIC New Energy and Beiqi Foton; Times SAIC and SAIC Times, a joint venture with SAIC, the former is responsible for the production of batteries, and the latter is responsible for the production of battery packs. , After satisfying SAIC's battery demand, the surplus production capacity will also be opened to other new energy vehicle manufacturers.
　　Batteries are the core competitiveness of battery companies.
　　It can be seen that joint ventures with professional battery manufacturers or self-built factories provide a stable source of power batteries for OEMs on the one hand and can better match the production rhythm of models; on the other hand It is also conducive to reducing the manufacturing cost of power batteries to obtain more effective cost control.
　　In fact, car companies build their own battery factories, which are also divided into two types: battery pack production and battery cell production. For pure electric vehicles, the battery pack manufacturing process is known as the fifth largest process after "stamping, welding, painting, and final assembly". Previously, most auto companies built their own battery factories to produce battery packs. For example, in 2017, manufacturers such as Geely, SAIC Motor, Daimler, and BMW Brilliance all built battery pack production lines or factories in China. However, at this stage, including Geely Automobile and SAIC Motor, they have incorporated the production of battery cells into the production scope of their own battery factories.
　　In this regard, some industry experts pointed out that the production and manufacture of batteries has high technical requirements, and the production and manufacture of batteries has a relatively high technical threshold. It is the core competitiveness of battery companies, and the main source is still professional battery supply. business.