Lithium prices soared and new energy vehicles ushered in the fourth price increase this year

Since the introduction of the national subsidy policy, new energy vehicle companies have begun a journey of price hikes.

In the first half of this year, as the industry faced problems such as rising raw material prices and lack of cores, BYD, Tesla and other new energy vehicles carried out three rounds of price increases for new energy vehicles. But in the second half of the year, from the end of July to the beginning of August, a number of new energy vehicle companies have successively announced price increases, and new energy vehicles ushered in the fourth round of price increases this year.

A number of industry insiders told the "Securities Daily" reporter that this round of price hikes by new energy vehicle companies is mainly due to rising raw material prices.

"In early August, many car companies raised prices again because the rapid growth of the new energy vehicle market changed the relationship between supply and demand." Wang Dongwei, chairman of Zhongtai Capital Investment Management Co., Ltd., said in an interview with a reporter from "Securities Daily"

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the National Passenger Vehicle Market Information Association, told the Securities Daily reporter that according to the passenger car association's forecast, the sales of new energy vehicles in the third quarter of this year may reach the level of 1.7 million units. New energy vehicle manufacturers are optimistic about future sales. Expectations also led to price adjustments.

How to effectively solve the power supply problem of lithium battery?

A relevant person in charge of a lithium carbonate raw material manufacturer said, since the end of 2020, the price of lithium carbonate has been rising all the way, from about 50,000 CNY/T to about 500,000 CNY/T.

Wang Dongwei analyzed to reporters: "From the demand side, the final demand for lithium products is mainly distributed in medical, industrial, battery and other fields. Among them, the battery field accounts for about 3/4 of the global lithium demand, and the power batteries used in new energy vehicles account for the vast majority of the battery sector. And from the perspective of supply, the global lithium resources are mainly distributed in Australia and South America. In Australia had a large number of mines abandoned since the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020; in South America, the production capacity investment is seriously insufficient, resulting in an obvious supply gap. the global supply of lithium carbonate in 2021 will only be 512,000 tons, while the demand will reach 539,300 tons. This situation is expected to remain in short supply for the next two years. "

Wang Dongwei said, "As a strategic pillar industry, new energy vehicles may continue to be supported by the country in terms of policies.”