The marketization of electric vehicles comes to an end: battery cost is more important than energy density

On June 13, the '2020 my country Automotive Chongqing Forum' was held in Chongqing to discuss hot issues in the automotive industry. Under the theme of the new four modernizations of automobiles, the topic of new energy vehicles is always a hot topic. Prior to this, the anxiety of battery life has been accompanied by the development of the new energy vehicle industry. With the development of new energy vehicles for several years, the problem of battery life has been well resolved. Xiao Yong, deputy general manager of GAC New Energy, said at the meeting: “You should not worry about battery life now. This year’s general level has reached 500 kilometers.” Xiao Yong believes that so far, 700 kilometers of battery life has reached pure electric power. The ceiling of the car's cruising range does not need to be higher. 'Energy density is not a big issue today.' Xiao Yong emphasized again. Compared with energy density, Xiao Yong is more concerned about cost. 'We believe that a competition in the future must be the competition of technology and cost.' Xiao Yong said. The cost issue has also attracted the attention of Lin Zhihong, deputy dean of the Guoxuan High-tech Engineering Research Institute. 'Cost is even more important than energy density. If you have said that one of the pain points in these years is that electric vehicles are more expensive. After a few years, the residual value of this battery is basically very low. In fact, we think that the cost of the battery will be reduced. In fact, we really want to meet the requirements of the automakers, and ultimately meet the requirements of customers.' Lin Zhihong said. After several years of development, the cruising range of electric vehicles has been 'visible to the naked eye' increase, while the cost of power lithium-ion batteries has not dropped to a satisfactory level. Lin Zhihong revealed: “Every OEM and every battery factory is taking countermeasures in this regard, such as replacing some high-end ternary materials. In Guoxuan’s path that has been going on, basically 10% every year. The ratio of Ji is declining.” Lin Zhihong believes that the key to the decline in battery costs lies in the control of raw material prices. Guoxuan Hi-Tech has always adhered to the lithium iron phosphate route, which is cheaper than the ternary lithium-ion battery 'nickel, cobalt, and manganese' raw materials. 'While controlling the price of raw materials and controlling the technological route, we should also expand productivity in production. In the past, we had a 1G factory, but now one line can achieve 5G, so that all aspects of production costs are amortized. At the same time, the battery Life, new recycling, etc. work.' Lin Zhihong said. Based on a number of cost reduction measures, Lin Zhihong believes that the cost of electric vehicles in the next five years will truly reach the same level as fuel vehicles. The solution of the cost issue is a key step for electric vehicles to get rid of financial subsidies and enter the market. In 2020, under the influence of the epidemic, new energy subsidies will continue to be implemented. However, two years later, new energy vehicles are bound to face market-oriented competition. It should be pointed out that in addition to competing with foreign auto brands' new energy products, Chinese brand new energy vehicles must also compete with fuel vehicles. Therefore, since the development of new energy vehicles, the cost issue has been mentioned before the battery life, which has become the next difficulty for the entire industry to overcome.