At the beginning of 2022, oil prices continued to rise, reaching a new high in recent years, and many car owners said that refueling was too expensive and wanted to change to a new energy vehicle. However, new energy vehicle companies have also ushered in a round of "price increases" due to rising battery costs, and many models have increased prices by thousands to tens of thousands of yuan, which has no obvious advantage over the increase in oil prices.
"My dad told me these days that the price of fuel at home is too expensive, let me look at new energy vehicles, but I don't seem to be cost-effective." Xiao Yang, who recently had the intention of buying a car in Guangzhou, calculated an account for the Nandu reporter.
"In the case of Guangdong No. 92 gasoline, the price on January 1 this year was 7.16 yuan per liter, and by March 18 it was 8.66 yuan per liter, and 1 liter rose by 1.5 yuan." The average price increase of new energy vehicles this year is about 5,000 yuan, which is equivalent to the price of more than 3,000 liters of oil, that is to say, tens of thousands of kilometers must be driven to cover the increase in oil prices. Xiao Yang said that in this way, it feels that the oil price is not as much as the price increase of new energy vehicles.
Guangdong oil price data show that No. 92 gasoline has continued to rise since 2022, continued to rise after "breaking 8", and has now reached a historical high in 10 years. By March 18, the price of No. 92 gasoline in Guangdong had risen by about 21%, and the driving cost of vehicle owners driving fuel vehicles had increased significantly.
However, the price increase data of the core power lithium battery raw materials of new energy vehicles is more exaggerated. On March 18, market data showed that the domestic price of lithium carbonate was reported at 504,000 yuan / ton, up 73.8% from the beginning of the year and up 479.3% year-on-year. The sharp rise in raw material prices continues to pass to the middle and lower reaches of the industrial chain, pushing up the price of power batteries, which in turn prompts new energy vehicle companies to increase prices.
"The increase in battery costs in the second quarter was very outrageous." Ideal Auto CEO Li Xiang said on his social media account on the evening of March 19 that according to him, the new energy vehicle brands that have contracted with battery manufacturers to determine the price increase in the second quarter have basically announced price increases immediately. The car companies that have not yet raised prices are mainly due to the fact that the price increase with battery manufacturers has not yet been negotiated, and the price will generally increase immediately after the negotiation. However, on March 21, Qin Lihong, president of Weilai Automobile, said on social media that "Weilai will not increase prices", and then told the media that "at least not yet this plan." ”
Nandu reporter combed public information and found that since 2022, nearly 20 car companies in the domestic automobile market, including Tesla, BYD, Volkswagen, GAC, Xiaopeng, WM, Euler, Nezha and so on, have increased prices in more than 40 models.
The lowest increase of 1,000 yuan is less, more models are rising at 3,000-7,000 yuan, in addition to many car companies have increased their prices by more than 10,000 yuan. For example, many Tesla models increased in price by 10,000 to 20,000 yuan in batches in March, the price of the C11 series of zero-run cars increased by 20,000 or 30,000 yuan, and the price of Xiaopeng Motors' models on sale increased by 10,100-20,000 yuan.
On March 21, 2022, Ningde Times, a leading domestic power battery company, has raised the price of batteries twice since the second half of last year, and the increase in the battery used by a new energy vehicle is 10,000 yuan. In response to this, CATL responded that due to the sharp rise in the price of upstream raw materials, the company dynamically adjusted the price of some battery products accordingly.
In view of the sharp increase in the price of upstream raw materials, the competent authorities have also begun to pay attention. According to the news released by the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on March 18, 2022, from March 16 to 17, 2022, the Department of Raw Material Industry and the First Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Price Department of the Development and Reform Commission, the Price Supervision and Inspection bureau of the State Administration of Market Supervision and the Anti-Unfair Competition Bureau, organized a symposium on the operation of the lithium industry and a symposium on the price increase of upstream materials for power batteries.
It is reported that the meeting focused on understanding the production situation and demand of upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain such as lithium resource development, lithium salt production, cathode materials, power batteries, etc., as well as the most urgent demands at present, and listened to the opinions and suggestions of relevant industry organizations and professionals.
The meeting requested that upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain should strengthen the docking of supply and demand, work together to form a long-term and stable strategic cooperative relationship, jointly guide the rational return of lithium salt prices, and increase efforts to ensure market supply.
In fact, the shortage of new energy power battery materials has emerged from 2021.
During the two sessions of the National People's Congress in 2022, a number of representatives of enterprises in the automobile and lithium battery industries also put forward suggestions or proposals. For example, Chen Hong, secretary of the Party Committee of SAIC Motor, suggested that upstream resources such as lithium and cobalt should be effectively integrated and controlled to ensure the safety of the industrial chain.
Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, suggested that effective measures should be taken as soon as possible to promote the supply and price stability of domestic lithium resources, accelerate the exploration and development of domestic lithium resources, and ensure the safety of the supply chain. Jiang Weiping, chairman of Tianqi Lithium, suggested accelerating the green development of lithium ore resources in western Sichuan.
"The general price increase of new energy vehicles is a normal measure that downstream car companies cannot afford to choose in the case of successive price increases of upstream materials." Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Association, recently said that the current raw material prices are very abnormal, and it is expected that the second half of this year may return to the normal price range.
Producer: Nandu Kechuang Studio
Written by: Nandu reporter Xu Jincong