Chinese companies make up more than half of the EV battery market, followed by Korean companies and Japanese manufacturers. The global electric vehicle (EV) battery …
In China, reports show that battery sale prices have fallen by an additional 10 per cent. The decline in material costs is mainly due to the continued decrease in cathode material prices and falling prices for battery metals like cobalt, nickel, and copper. A lithium mine in Chile.
Manila: Asian battery makers are expanding aggressively. The aim: grab an even greater market share in the midst of an industry downturn. In March, China's CATL and BYD slashed battery prices by 50 per cent, shifting the world on a fast track towards more affordable EVs.
China’s CATL has several competitive advantages in the battery manufacturing sector: Tech leadership: CATL invests heavily in R&D, leading to innovations such as high-energy-density batteries and enhanced safety features.
One clear sign of innovation: patents. This is where Asian battery makers, the Chinese in particular, are winning in a way that should awaken aspiring competitors from their deep slumber. As of the Q2 2023, China had more than 14,000 patent filings related to batteries.
At the cell level, battery prices have also seen significant reductions. The average price of square prismatic cells (the kind used in most non-lithium phosphate EVs) dropped to 6.7 cents per Watt-hour (Wh) in July 2024, a 2.1 per cent decrease from June. However, lithium phosphate cells are even cheaper, at around 4 cents per Wh.
Battery prices have been coming down significantly over the past year, by an average of about 30 per cent. Here's the more exciting part: it's likely to go down even more in the coming months. To better understand this, one must go back to Wright’s Law. This trend isn't just happening in China, it’s happening globally.