Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers: The new energy automobile industry has ushered in a marketization stage

Per reporter: Sun Tongtong Per editor: Pei Jianru

2021 is an extraordinary year for the domestic automotive industry. Looking back on this year, Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, believes that "the penetration rate of new energy vehicles has increased significantly", "carbon neutrality", "lithium prices have soared" and "solid-state batteries" are all keywords in the automotive field.

"This year, the development momentum of New Energy Vehicles in China is very good, and the growth rate is much higher than the growth rate of traditional fuel vehicles." According to the current data, the sales volume of New Energy Vehicles in China reaching 3 million units this year can be expected. Next year, I think domestic new energy vehicles will maintain a good growth momentum. Shi Jianhua said.

The data shows that since the first half of this year, domestic new energy vehicles have maintained a high-speed trend, and the cumulative production and sales in the first half of the year alone have exceeded 1.2 million, which is the same as the annual sales in 2019. At the same time, the penetration rate of the domestic new energy vehicle market has also increased from 5.4% at the beginning of this year to 9.4% in the first half of this year. In June this year, the penetration rate of the domestic new energy vehicle market has exceeded 12%.

Shi Jianhua believes that with the continuous improvement of the quality of new energy vehicle products, the gradual improvement of the industrial chain, and the improvement of consumer recognition, the new energy automobile industry has ushered in a stage of market-oriented development.

Under the background of the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the industry's demand for upstream raw materials is increasing, especially lithium resources this year can be said to be on the cusp.

Shanghai non-ferrous metal spot prices show that on December 20, battery-grade lithium carbonate was quoted at 241,500 yuan / ton, and the price rose by 3,500 yuan / ton in a single day. At the end of November, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate exceeded 200,000 yuan per ton, and the price continued to rise in December, with a cumulative increase of more than 18.38% in the month, and an increase of more than 400% compared with the same period last year.

"The increase in lithium prices is not only a contradiction between supply and demand that affects the marketization of electric vehicles, but also puts forward a new topic for the key to the sustainable development of electric vehicles - power battery technology." Shi Jianhua thinks.

At the same time, solid-state batteries have also ushered in a new outlet this year, and major car companies and battery suppliers are laying out. "Solid-state batteries are an opportunity for electric vehicle technology and product upgrades, and also a new track for market-oriented competition for new energy vehicles." Shi Jianhua said.

For "carbon neutrality", Shi Jianhua believes that under the impetus of the dual carbon goal, the automobile industry is also accelerating the transformation to green and sustainable development, and "carbon neutrality" will help optimize the transformation and upgrading of the automobile industry structure.

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