SHANGHAI, May 18 (SMM) – A weekly update on the trending stories from the New Energy sector.

Ganfeng Lithium to expand production capacity in Argentina and Mexico

Ganfeng Lithium will expand its production capacity based on future changes in market demand and evaluation of lithium products, and plans to establish an annual output of 100,000 mt of lithium extraction from LCE ore, 100,000 mt of lithium extraction from LCE brine and clay. The layout direction lies in the development of the salt lake in Argentina and the lithium clay projects in Mexico.

The company boasts production capacity of 81,000 mt of lithium hydroxide, 40,500 mt of lithium carbonate and 1,600 mt of lithium metal in 2021 and will add an annual output of 40,000 mt of battery-grade lithium carbonate capacity for the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium salt lake project in Argentina. The lithium resources currently held by Ganfeng Lithium include Mount Marion and Pilgangoora in Australia and Avalonia in Ireland; the brine resources are mainly contributed by Mariana and Cauchari-Olaroz in Argentina; and Sonora lithium clay mine in Mexico. The company underwrites 400,000 mt/year of lithium concentrate for the Mount Marion project, 310,000 mt/year of lithium concentrate for the first and second phases of the Pilgangoora project, 75% of the battery-grade lithium carbonate production capacity for the Cauchari-Olaroz brine project in Argentina and 160,000 mt/year of lithium concentrate for Manono project.

Some NEV models in Shanghai may no longer be qualified to apply for free licenses

Wuling Hongguang MINIEV that is bought in Shanghai could not be listed. SAIC-GM-Wuling officially responded on the evening of May 7 that “Shanghai’s new policy has not been finally rolled out, please refer to the final policy. SAIC-GM-Wuling has always taken the actual needs of the people as the core to create more products that adapt to the market environment and the needs of the people.

There is a real problem that some models in Shanghai cannot apply for free licenses for Shanghai NEVs, including Hongguang MINI, ORA Black and White Cat, Chery Ant and other star models. It is reported that Shanghai will implement the New Deal after May 1, when all NEVs with a price of less than 100,000 yuan and a body length of less than 4.6 meters will no longer be given green cards. Once this standard is implemented, there is no doubt that it will have a huge impact on the current best-selling A00-class NEVs.

Domestic production and sales of NEVs hit a record high in April

Domestic production and sales of NEVs increased by 163.6% and 180.3% respectively on the year to 216,000 units and 206,000 units in April, hitting a record high. However, production and sales diverged on the month. Output rose slightly by 0.06% month on month in April, and sales declined sharply by 8.7% from March. The production and sales diverged in April.

Although the market continued to improve due to the rights protection of some star models and the shortage of chips has caused sales to fluctuate, the trend of market growth has not changed significantly. As some auto companies and technology companies have increased their deployment in the NEVs industry, more new models have been launched. The industry's momentum for growth remained bullish amid the improvement of networking and intelligence and policy stimulus.

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