Models? Y is a pure electric 7-seat SUV officially released by Tesla last March, with a cruising range of 230-300 miles (370-482 kilometers). Production began in fremont, California, USA from June 5438+ 10 this year. When it was launched last year, Tesla said that it had four versions: standard version, rear-wheel drive long-life version, dual-motor all-wheel drive long-life version and high-performance version. But at present, only the latter two versions are accepted, and so is the domestic market. So from this perspective, will Shanghai Super Factory produce Model in the short term? The battery that Y needs will indeed be provided by LG Chem.
Tesla hasn't given up the lower-priced model yet? Plan Y released by Musk on Twitter a few months ago, a lower-priced single-motor model? Y will be launched in the next few months, and it will have a larger battery than the standard battery life model? The cruising range of 3 is longer. Therefore, it is speculated that Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., the largest battery supplier in China, will probably be an upgraded model with domestic standard battery life. Y supplies lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, just like Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. upgrades the model for standard battery life? 3 Same as battery supply.
It is reported that this year, Tesla Giga Shanghai has started the second phase of large-scale construction, mainly to produce Model? Y factory, the current production capacity of the factory has doubled. Recently, the company obtained the production model in China? Y government approval, which is also the last step before production.
So at present, in China, doesn't Tesla only have cheaper models? 3 is equipped with lithium iron phosphate battery of contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd., and the long-life version and the more expensive car version all use the ternary lithium battery of LG Chem. As for another partner of Tesla, Panasonic battery is no longer in the supply system of domestic models. Earlier, some media reported that the models produced in Shanghai factory still used Panasonic batteries at the beginning of this year, but in the later period, under the dual pressure of output and battery cost, Tesla gradually turned to LG batteries as the main direction.
According to South Korea's energy market research institute SNE? Research data show that the total installed capacity of global electric vehicle batteries decreased by 1.3% from June to September this year, but LG Chem, Samsung SDI, SK? The total share of innovation 3 Korean companies in the global power battery market has more than doubled year-on-year. Among them, LG Chem ranks first in the global electric vehicle battery market with a market share of 24.6%, followed by Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. (23.7%) and Panasonic (19.5%).
SNE？ The study said that it benefited from the third generation Tesla, Audi e-tron and modern electric truck Porter? Two? Electric and other models sell well, and the three major power battery manufacturers in South Korea continue to expand their market share. The ranking of installed capacity in the global power battery market has also changed. Panasonic battery has dropped from the second place to the third place for many years, while LG Chemical has jumped from the third place to the first place.
We know that Panasonic's market share has always been the top of LG Chem, mainly because Panasonic has cooperated with Tesla since 2009 and seized the opportunity. In 20 14, Tesla joined hands with Panasonic to build Gigafactory in Nevada, USA, costing $5 billion. 1 super factory. It turns out that Panasonic battery also promised Tesla to Gigafactory? The production capacity of 1 will increase by 50% in 2020, but anyone who knows the development history of Tesla knows that the days of Tesla in the past few years were actually not good. The production and sales of related models are less than expected, and problems such as insufficient production capacity, frequent accidents and sustained losses have been lingering around Tesla.
Affected by this, Panasonic battery has also suffered losses for several consecutive fiscal years, so it is no longer actively increasing production capacity. At the 20 18 Panasonic's second quarter earnings conference, Matsushita's chief financial officer, Yuji Umeda, once said that Tesla and Panasonic's Gigafactory? Until 1 is profitable, we will not consider investing in new production capacity for the time being. At the same time, huge financial losses also prompted Panasonic to suspend its investment in Tesla power batteries and the layout of the battery project of Tesla Shanghai factory. But it was in these crucial two years that its competitor LG Chem achieved overtaking.
Compared with the conservatism and safety of Panasonic batteries, LG Chemistry is very radical. In 20 18, the annual production capacity of Panasonic battery was about 33GWh, and it is planned to reach 52GWh in 2020, while the annual production capacity of LG Chemical 20 165438+ climbed to 34GWh, which was accompanied by huge losses in the past two years. It has invested heavily in building factories in Europe and China, and plans to expand its production capacity to 165438+ in 2020.
Thanks to its early layout in Europe, LG Chem took the lead in squeezing into the supply chain of international mainstream car companies such as Volkswagen, Daimler and Renault. In 20 18, LG Chem has cooperated with 13 car companies (Hyundai, Volvo, GM, Chrysler, etc. ) ranks among the top 20 automobile brands in the world, and has established four battery factories in Korea, China, Poland and the United States.
Therefore, in the first half of this year, with the increase of subsidies for electric vehicles in Europe and the centralized listing of electric vehicles by many automobile giants, the European electric vehicle market ushered in explosive growth. According to the data of China Automobile Association, in the first half of this year, the domestic sales of new energy vehicles decreased by 44% year-on-year to 335,000, but the sales of new energy vehicles in Europe increased by 52% year-on-year to 403,300. This is the first time in five years that the sales volume of electric vehicles in Europe has surpassed that of China, becoming the largest electric vehicle market in the world.
It is also through this east wind that LG Chem quickly achieved overtaking in corners. In the first three quarters of this year, the installed capacity of LG Chem reached 19. 13GWh. In the same period, the sales of LG's chemical battery business in the third quarter was US$ 2.62 billion, and the operating profit was US$ 65.438+US$ 400 million, both hitting record highs. At this time, Panasonic battery also noticed the huge prospect of the power battery market. On the one hand, it began to rebuild with Tesla and increase its capacity expansion in the North American market. On the other hand, it began to enter the European market.
Recently, foreign media reported that Panasonic battery will cooperate with Norwegian national oil company Equinor and Norway's largest industrial company Hyderabad (Norsk? Hydro) Explore the opportunity to build a lithium-ion battery factory in Norway. The three companies said in a statement that the plant will be "based on Panasonic's leading technology and oriented to European electric vehicles and other market applications". It is worth noting that a Panasonic battery spokesperson said that it is considering supplying Tesla, but has not yet decided whether to build a new factory in Europe.
The expansion of LG Chem in Zhang Zhilu did not stop because of the epidemic. A few days ago, foreign media reported that LG Chem is trying to expand its battery production line. The company plans to expand the annual production capacity from100-120 gwh (by the end of 2020) to 260GWh, which will be realized in 2023, enough to supply about 5 million power batteries for pure electric vehicles. It is reported that the company is choosing a site for a new power battery factory in Europe. At present, LG Chem has two battery factories in Europe, both located in Poland, with an investment of 65.438+0.5 billion euros and an annual output of 65GWh.
At the same time, LG Chem is still actively negotiating with car companies to establish a battery production joint venture factory. At present, the company has set up two joint ventures, one with Geely Automobile (the stock ratio is 50: 50, and the estimated annual output is 202 1 0 gwh), and the other with General Motors (the stock ratio is 50: 50, and the planned annual output is over 30GWh, and the factory is located in the northeast of Ohio). Joint venture factories will be built in their respective countries, which will upgrade the corresponding automobile enterprises.
Among the top five battery camps in the world, only Panasonic and BYD have not set up power battery factories in Europe, while Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., LG Chem and Samsung SDI have all set up large power battery production bases in Europe. In addition, China power battery enterprises such as AESC Vision, Funeng Technology and Honeycomb Energy have also started or started large-scale power battery projects in Europe. Obviously, in terms of layout, the pace of Panasonic batteries has lagged behind the above-mentioned mainstream battery companies.
Regardless of market share or development momentum, LG Chem is undoubtedly successful, but the disadvantages brought by rapid expansion will be more prominent. 165438+ 10/8, just after GM announced the recall of 69,000 vehicles? Following Chevrolet Bolt electric car, Hyundai was also sued in South Korea for a series of battery fires in KONA electric car. The batteries of both electric cars were produced by LG Chem.
It is reported that the Chevrolet electric vehicles recalled by GM this time are Bolt electric vehicles produced by 20 17-20 19, of which about 9,500 vehicles were recalled in South Korea and 5 10000 vehicles were recalled in the US market. At present, there have been at least five fire accidents in the world. General Motors said that the recalled vehicles were all equipped with batteries produced by South Korea's LG Chemical Company, which had a fire hazard when they were fully charged or about to be fully charged. Just last month, Hyundai Motor also recalled its KONA electric vehicle using LG chemical battery on a large scale due to the hidden danger of battery fire.
In response, a spokesman for LG Chemical said, "We will cooperate with Hyundai Motor and General Motors to conduct an investigation in good faith to determine the exact cause of the fire." . Huck, CEO of LG Chem? Zhe? Shin said: "As a supplier of key components of the battery system, we obviously feel responsible. But we can't put forward measures to solve the problem until the clear reasons are determined. 」
Undoubtedly, the large-scale recall of two consecutive car companies due to the quality problems of LG chemical batteries has had a certain impact and negative impact on the safety of LG chemical batteries, and this is not the first crisis that Korean battery brands have encountered this year. In the first half of this year, about 50,000 electric vehicles owned by BMW and Ford using Samsung SDI batteries were also recalled due to fire accidents.
Ashton tubercle
We have asked a question before, is the power battery durable or safe? But for so long, battery manufacturers still seem to have no standard answer, and they have too many conditions and influencing factors to balance and consider. The question facing LG Chem now is whether this power battery should be listed or safe. In fact, from the consumer's point of view, the answers to the above two questions are simple and certainly safe, aren't they?
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.