Text: Xiao Jie
Vehicle sales reached a new high in February, reaching 1.74 million units! Among them, the sales of new energy vehicles also reached 368,000 units, an increase of 197.5% year-on-year. According to the latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), domestic car sales rose directly by 18.7% in February, following the growth in January. In January this year, domestic automobile sales increased year-on-year for the first time in nine months.
2021 is undoubtedly a counterattack on automobile production and sales, with mainland automobile production and sales exceeding 26 million units, an increase of 3.4% and 3.8% year-on-year, respectively, ending a three-year decline since 2018. At the same time, the mainland's automobile exports also exceeded 2 million from about 1 million in the annual year, an increase of 1 times year-on-year. The export of new energy vehicles showed explosive growth, with exports more than 3 times.
At the same time, it can also be seen that mainland automotive products are deeply recognized by overseas consumers. According to the statistics of China Xiaokang Network on March 21, 12 of the top 20 companies and groups in the sales of pure electric vehicles (EVs) in 2021 are Chinese companies. BYD's momentum is very strong, under the national policy to encourage the development of pure electric vehicles, the United States Tesla ranked 1st, Toyota ranked 29th, Japanese companies the most lack of presence.
It is estimated that by 2025, the sales volume of new energy vehicles will account for about 20%. In the case of continuous increase in oil prices, oil prices in some areas have officially entered the "9 yuan era". Many car owners who want to buy a car will focus on new energy vehicles. Then, it is even more important to promote the transmission of energy and information between electric vehicles and smart grids. Therefore, the power battery recycling industry of "turning waste into treasure" is also extremely valuable, and the most successful automotive battery industry is Zeng Yuqun, the founder of the Ningde era.
The production and sales of new energy vehicles continue to hit new highs, and the contradiction between supply and demand of raw materials is becoming increasingly prominent. In particular, the latest power battery recycling industry once attracted a large amount of capital to compete. According to enterprise investigation data, the current power battery recycling enterprises in the mainland are as high as 38,500, and 24,400 new ones will be added in 2021, an increase of 635.17% year-on-year.
At the same time, the price of power battery recycling is rising rapidly, and the price system of the entire recycling market is intricate. In January last year, lithium iron phosphate cathode waste powder was only 4,000 yuan / ton, and in January this year, it rose to 40,000 yuan / ton, and what is more shocking is that the price in February has reached about 80,000 yuan / ton, directly doubling.
Battery-grade lithium carbonate achieved 10 times that of the same period last year, soaring from 50,000 yuan / ton, directly exceeding 500,000 yuan / ton; domestic electrolytic cobalt and electrolytic nickel increased by about 60% and 80% respectively year-on-year, and the price soared to 570,000 yuan / ton and 220,000 yuan / ton, respectively. It is hard to imagine that the power battery recycling industry is so hot. In this case, the Ningde era, which has been ranked first in the "global power battery enterprise" for 5 consecutive years, is undoubtedly the biggest winner.
According to data from research institute SNE Research, in the 2021 global power battery installed capacity ranking, CATL, BYD, Samsung SDI and other companies are ranked in the top 10. Among them, the global installed capacity of CATL in the field of power batteries reached 96.7GWh, with a market share of 32.6%, ranking first in the world.
The Ningde era can be described as a real wealth-making machine, not just its founder Zeng Yuqun. Many executives in the CATL era are regular customers of the rich list, mainly because since the LISTING of the CATL era in 2018, its stock price has soared, and it took only 3 years to achieve 10-fold growth.
Zeng Yuqun was born in 1968 in The Jiaocheng District of Ningde City, just the child of an ordinary farmer. The village where he lives is small but close to the mountains and the environment is very beautiful. Later, he was admitted to Shanghai Jiao Tong University with excellent results and began to study naval architecture. After graduation, he once again upgraded his academic qualifications and obtained a master's degree in electronic and information engineering from South China Polytechnic.
Mr. Zeng was assigned to work for a state-owned enterprise. It was originally a stable "iron rice bowl", but surprisingly, he suddenly resigned to work at the Xinke Electronics Factory in Guangdong. At that time, his high school classmate Huang Shilin also resigned to work in Guangdong. The key is that Huang Shilin will also become Zeng Yuqun's most important working partner in the future, serving as vice chairman in the Ningde era.
At the same time, Zeng Yuqun was promoted to engineering director for his excellent work in the electronics factory. In 1999, SAE CEO Leung Shao-kang brought Mr. Zeng to his office and asked him to investigate a battery project. Although Zeng Yuqun wrote a report to Liang Shaokang after a long discussion with colleagues and industry experts, he thought it was feasible, but he was not enthusiastic about it.
Liang Shaokang had long wanted to work on this project with Zeng Yuqun, but Zeng Yuqun repeatedly refused Liang Shaokang because a company wanted to hire him as general manager. Fortunately, Liang Shaokang did not give up, but asked Zeng Yuqun's immediate boss Chen Tanghua to talk to Zeng Yuqun again. Liang Shaokang's perseverance finally impressed Zeng Yuqun, and the last three people jointly established New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (ATL), and the factory was located in Dongguan.
In 2011, in order to adapt to the market, Zeng Yuqun independently produced a company specializing in automotive batteries from ATL and named it "Ningde Times" after his hometown. With his keen market insight and national energy conservation and emission reduction policies, the Ningde era has been recognized by the market step by step. Just a year later, it got the opportunity to supply batteries to BMW cars.
In the face of new technological outlets, Zeng Yuqun's decision led the Ningde era to complete a counterattack. At that time, faced with the choice of lithium iron phosphate battery or ternary lithium battery, he decisively chose ternary lithium battery. The different choices represent two different directions, representing the future success or failure of the Ningde era, and Zeng Yuqun's choice is undoubtedly correct.
In 2017, the shipment of power lithium batteries in the Ningde era reached a staggering 11.84GWh, ranking 1st in the world, and this 1st place was 5 years! According to statistics, in the "Hurun Global Rich List" TOP 1000, 25 people are from the automotive industry. Zeng Yuqun ranked Second with a wealth of 335 billion yuan, only after Tesla, which shows the success of the Ningde era.