Source of this article: Times Weekly Author: Zhang Xu
Recently, Forbes China released a list of the best CEOs. BYD founder and CEO Wang Chuanfu ranked first, Ningde Times founder Zeng Yuqun ranked second.
CATL and BYD, one is located in the upstream of the new energy vehicle industry chain, and the other was previously known to the outside world mainly for its downstream vehicle business. But nowadays, there are more and more intersections between the two families, and the number of times they are put on the same stage to compete is also increasing day by day.
CATL is riding the wave of new energy vehicles, its stock price is taking off, and it is known as the "Ning King"; BYD's performance has been making rapid progress, with its market value exceeding one trillion in June, and its sales volume surpassing Tesla , becoming the world's best-selling new energy vehicle in the first half of the year crown.
After more variables appear, where will the competition between the two sides go?
and Tesla are caught in a "triangular relationship"?
In addition to the best CEO, CATL and BYD have more open and covert battles.
Recently, it was reported that the blade battery supplied by BYD has been delivered to Tesla's German factory. It is expected that the first batch of mass-produced models equipped with BYD blade batteries can roll off the assembly line as soon as the end of this month or early next month.
It is reported that one of Tesla’s previous battery suppliers is CATL, and the addition of BYD will undoubtedly make the game of its battery supply system more interesting.
In this regard, CATL does not seem to be sitting idly by. According to LatePost reports, CATL plans to supply M3P batteries to Tesla in the fourth quarter of this year, which will be installed in the Model Y model using a 72-degree battery pack.
According to media reports, CATL has stated that due to the addition of manganese material into the lithium iron phosphate battery , turning it into a lithium manganese iron phosphate battery, the energy density of the M3P battery is higher than that of the lithium iron phosphate , and the cost It is also better than ternary lithium battery. From the perspective of the industry, BYD and CATL are leading the "involution" of the power battery industry in their competition for Tesla.
In fact, BYD’s cooperation with Tesla has long been rumored. In August 2021, multiple media said that BYD would supply Tesla with its self-developed blade battery products in the second quarter of 2022, and Tesla models equipped with blade batteries have entered the testing phase.
In June this year, Lian Yubo, executive vice president of BYD Group and dean of the Automotive Engineering Research Institute, revealed in an interview: "We admire Tesla very much and are also good friends with Elon Musk. We are also preparing to supply batteries to him (Tesla) soon.”
BYD said that Musk is a good friend, but just a few years ago, the two sides were “on the same page.”
In 2011, Musk said on a talk show that BYD "has no core technology" and "is not worthy of being a competitor." BYD founder Wang Chuanfu retorted, calling Tesla a "rich man's toy" and even shouted, "We can build a Tesla in minutes!"
is an enemy in the vehicle field, but may be a friend in the battery field. BYD and Tesla, the "happy enemies", seem to be the best footnote to the saying that "there is no eternal enemy in the world".
Xiaomi Auto: Do I want both?
There is another dispute in the competition between CATL and BYD.
In August this year, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said that Xiaomi cars are expected to be officially mass-produced in the first half of 2024. 36氪 reported that power batteries, one of the core components of Xiaomi cars, have finalized two main suppliers, namely CATL and BYD's Fudi battery .
Xiaomi Auto’s first model is expected to be available in two configurations: low-end models using a 400V voltage platform, and high-end models using an 800V voltage platform. Low-end models may be equipped with BYD's lithium iron phosphate blade batteries, while high-end models may be equipped with CATL's ternary Kirin batteries.
news also pointed out that the Kirin battery used by Xiaomi Auto is different from the one released by CATL two months ago. It is a customized model with improvements in charging rate, thermal management and other aspects. It is called "Golden Kirin" internally by CATL. .
In June this year, CATL released the third generation CTP module-less battery pack Kirin battery. It has been 4 years since the first generation CTP battery.
Li Auto CEO Li Xiang said that next year’s first pure electric vehicle will use Kirin batteries, Avita and other brands have also expressed that they will become the first customers of Kirin batteries.
Car companies are rushing to "eat crabs", which is inseparable from the beautiful product parameters of Kirin batteries: volume utilization rate reaches 72%, energy density reaches 255Wh/kg, taking into account the 4C charging rate, it will achieve a cruising range of 1,000 kilometers.
CATL Chief Scientist Wu Kai compared the Kirin battery with Tesla’s 4680 battery and said: “Under the same chemical system and the same battery pack size, the power of the Kirin battery pack can be improved compared to the 4680 system. 13%.”
On the other hand, the advantage of blade batteries is that the cells and modules of traditional lithium iron phosphate batteries require brackets to be fixed, so the volume is relatively large. However, blade batteries omit these brackets and pack the cells directly, making the same The energy density of blade batteries is 50% higher than that of ordinary lithium iron phosphate batteries.
And due to its unique internal structure, the blade battery can easily pass the needle puncture test, and safety has become one of the main selling points of the blade battery.
Regarding the "triangular relationship" between these two groups, a reporter from Time Weekly interviewed BYD but did not get a clear response as of the time of publication. Several other companies were noncommittal when asked by the media, appearing to be very secretive.
The battle between Bining may point to the entire market
A battle is unfolding between BYD and CATL, not for a certain customer, but for the entire new energy vehicle market.
Data from the China Automotive Power Battery Alliance show that in July, BYD's Fudi Battery beat CATL in terms of installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries. It is reported that the installed capacity of Fudi Battery lithium iron phosphate batteries reached 6.01GWh, accounting for 41.9%, while CATL accounted for 37.37%.
From the perspective of the industry, on the one hand, it may be affected by BYD's rising sales. In July, BYD's sales increased by 183.1% year-on-year, with total sales reaching 160,000 vehicles, which was five times more than the three Wei Xiaoli companies combined.
On the other hand, BYD is also increasing its external supply of batteries. Gaogong Lithium Battery data shows that in 2021, Fudi Battery's external supporting companies include China FAW, Jinkang Automobile, Guangzhou Automobile BYD, Dongfeng Motor, Changan Automobile and other brands. BYD's external supply of battery installed capacity will only be 5.56% in 2021. However, as production capacity climbs, its external supply list will be further lengthened and installed capacity will also increase.
Combined with BYD's overseas investment and factory layout, as well as the news that Tesla will use BYD blade batteries, these indicate that BYD may have already cut the cake of the CATL era.
Although the power battery industry is undergoing greater changes, CATL is still the well-deserved number one in terms of total installed vehicles.
CATL’s advantages are mainly reflected in ternary lithium batteries. In July this year, CATL achieved a total installed capacity of 6.06GWh in my country's power battery market, accounting for 61.56%, exceeding the combined share of 2 to 10 companies. From January to June this year, CATL’s ternary power battery installed capacity was 22.89GWh, accounting for 50.19%, followed by China New Aviation, LG New Energy, and Sunwanda .
Co-director and researcher Pan and Lin of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center of the International Joint Business School of Zhejiang University told Times Weekly reporters that BYD Battery is eating the cake of CATL, which is the result of years of accumulation of technology and industrial chain.
"The current business of BYD and CATL is staggered. The main obstacle to selling batteries is that BYD has a full industrial chain and competes with customers. In recent years, BYD has wanted to open up external markets and weaken competition in the same industry, but as long as this Question one It has always existed that it is difficult for BYD to dominate and become the exclusive supplier of automobile companies. Instead, it will complement each other with other manufacturers, such as CATL, BYD, Tesla, and Xiaomi Automobile. "Triangular Relationship" has just begun. The battle over power batteries is far from settled.
