BYD and Daimler may enter into late negotiations on battery supply

Financial Network Automotive News BYD may supply blade batteries to Daimler. On September 22, it was reported that BYD was in late negotiations with Daimler on insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT). People familiar with the matter said that BYD is discussing with Daimler to supply the latter with chips produced by the company and used in its own electric cars. The negotiation cannot guarantee that an agreement will be reached. BYD is also in negotiations with other automakers. Caijing Auto confirmed to relevant parties of BYD on the above rumors, and the other side said it would not comment. IGBT is a kind of semiconductor, mainly used as an electronic switch in electric vehicles to reduce power consumption and improve reliability. At present, major automobile manufacturers have promoted the research and development of electrification, but only a few companies have mastered IGBT technology. BYD is the only Chinese car manufacturer that independently produces IGBTs. On September 10, foreign media said that Daimler would cooperate with BYD and plan to carry BYD's new product-lithium iron phosphate (LFP) blade batteries. At that time, Caijing.com Auto contacted a person from BYD. The other party said that there was no official news to disclose for the time being. On September 18, according to a report by the Financial Associated Press, BYD is currently stepping up its efforts to increase the production capacity of blade batteries. Among them, Fudi Chongqing Plant, which is an important production base for blade batteries, will build 8 production lines by the end of this year, achieving an annual production capacity of more than 20GWh. According to the official introduction, the Fudi battery factory in Chongqing covers an area of u200bu200bmore than 1 million square meters, covers an area of u200bu200b1,500 acres, has a total investment of 10 billion yuan, a designed production capacity of 20GWh, and an annual output value of over 20 billion yuan. Construction of the plant started in February 2019, and production will begin in March 2020. The accelerated increase in blade battery production capacity comes from BYD’s increasing internal demand and potential external orders. As the first model to be launched with a blade battery, BYD Han sold 4,000 vehicles in August. Zhao Changjiang, general manager of BYD Auto Sales, once said that BYD Han's order volume has exceeded 30,000, and the current delivery schedule is far from meeting the order demand. In addition to BYD Han, BYD e9 and BYD Song PLUSEV will also be launched this year with blade batteries. At the same time, it was reported that Daimler and Toyota intend to cooperate with BYD to purchase blade batteries, but none of the parties involved responded to this rumor. On March 29, 2020, BYD officially launched the blade battery, announcing that its cruising range has reached the same level as a ternary lithium battery, and it has successfully passed the 'acupuncture test'. According to official data, compared with the traditional modular battery pack, the volume utilization rate of the blade battery has increased by more than 50%, and the cruising range has reached the same level as that of a high-energy ternary lithium battery.