"Demon nickel" continues to rise, the price of battery raw materials also follows, "one sing and one harmony" with the gradual decline of government subsidies, a silent war between car companies has begun...
In all industries, the more advanced the company, the more it pursues efficiency and control. It has been focusing on how to ensure the stability of its supply chain one step ahead of others, including a stable supply of battery raw materials.
Fried chicken shops buy chicken farms, tea companies buy tea gardens, coffee companies buy farms, and air conditioning plants buy copper ,...... What do new energy vehicle factories buy?
"People don't realize how far ahead Tesla is."
Tesla CEO Musk has mentioned several times in recent years that he wants to ensure a stable supply of nickel, saying at a 2020 results meeting, "Please mine more nickel." Whoever can mine nickel in an efficient and environmentally friendly way can get a huge long-term contract from Tesla. ”
As the penetration rate of new energy vehicles continues to increase, Musk has taken the lead in raising anxieties about nickel. The data shows that the battery industry's future demand for nickel is expected to jump from about 400,000 tons this year to about 1.5 million tons in 2030. The reason why car companies prefer nickel is mainly because nickel can greatly improve the energy density of batteries, improve the mileage of electric vehicles, and be cheaper than cobalt resources.
Recently, according to the latest reports in foreign media, Tesla reached an undisclosed nickel deal with Brazilian mining company Vale last year, which will supply Tesla as an automaker with nickel for many years to come. According to people familiar with the matter, the resolution mainly involves nickel from Canada.
Last year, Tesla has also been vigorously locking in the supply of nickel, with Australian mining giant BHP and French New Caledonia mining company Prony Resourse a total of about 60,000 tons of nickel per year. In January, Tesla signed a six-year contract with U.S. company Talon Metals to supply 75,000 tons of nickel.
Tesla achieved global sales of 930,000 vehicles last year, once again setting a new energy record, thanks to Tesla's forward-looking layout of the supply chain. After Tesla signed "big orders" again and again, Ningde Times, BYD and other companies have also reported the news of purchasing nickel ore. The battle for nickel ore is also intensifying. After Tesla established a supply network, a set of data indicates that Tesla is expected to set another world record this year.
The "circle of friends" brings growth
On Thursday, local time in the United States, Tesla's stock price closed at $1084.59 per share, up 0.65%, and the stock has been in an upward trend recently. Tesla's stock price also far outperformed electric car startups Riyan and Lucid, driven by strong delivery figures.
At the end of each quarter, deliveries are always one of the most concerned indicators for every car company, which means that whether it can support the rise in financial performance is also a barometer of consumer demand for electric vehicles. Perhaps because of the soaring price of gasoline, consumers have turned to new energy vehicles. According to the auto network review, analysts said that Tesla may have delivered 309158 cars worldwide in the first three months of this year, an increase of 40% compared with 184,800 vehicles in the first quarter of last year, and delivered 308,600 vehicles in the fourth quarter of last year, the highest quarterly delivery data for Tesla, and Tesla is expected to have an innovative delivery record.
Behind the increase in deliveries, in addition to the nickel supply of the "circle of friends", Tesla mainly relies on two factories, located in the Fremont, California, and Shanghai factories, the former mainly assembling and producing Model S, Model X, Model 3 and Model Y models. The Shanghai plant produces the Model 3 and Model Y. Among them, the new cars produced at the Shanghai plant account for more than half of Tesla's total car sales in 2021. In addition, Tesla is also increasing the production speed of the factory, and it is reported that its new factory in Glenhead can produce the Model Y within 10 hours. It takes three times less time than Volkswagen to produce an ID.3.
Extremely high production efficiency also reflects Tesla's high delivery volume, but then again, Tesla's "obsession" with nickel is only because of the growing demand of the market? In fact, nickel for Tesla at present, can only reluctantly "settle for the status quo." Tesla has a head start in the competition for resources, not only to let nickel catch up with electric vehicles, but also to "make a big difference" in nickel.
In September 2020, Tesla publicly launched the 4680 battery for the first time on battery day, which uses ultra-high nickel NCA, nickel 90 and so on. Tesla said that in the future, the 4680 production capacity will reach 200GWh by the end of 2022 and 3TWh in 2030. This year, Tesla's goal is to increase the output of electric vehicles by 50%, and to achieve a breakthrough in battery and production capacity, Tesla's future demand for nickel is self-evident.
Automotive network review: In recent years, the rapid growth of new energy vehicle sales, the new energy era has opened a new cycle of nickel consumption. High nickelization is still an important direction for the development of batteries in the future. The deep ploughing of the battery field is inseparable from nickel, for Tesla, how to make the new energy more stable development, early layout is one, the second is to avoid the situation of "smart women are difficult to do, no rice cooking". In the case that the "flag" has been laid out, Tesla is ready to go, nickel or that nickel, whether it can bring a jump for Tesla, next, it depends on Tesla performance.