China Battery Cell Output to Drop in April

SHANGHAI, Apr 19 (SMM) - NEV sales showed a robust recovery in March when compared to February, but this failed to boost battery cell demand as both NEV makers and dealers still held enormous NEV and battery cell inventories. This situation will hardly improve any time soon. The prices of key raw materials, such as lithium salts and electrolytes, continued to fall, driving down the costs and prices of energy storage battery cells. As battery cell prices fell less sharply than its costs, downstream energy storage integrator producers and end applications companies adopted a wait-and-see approach, with some projects being delayed to the second half of the year. SMM estimates China’s battery cell output at 40.3 Gwh in April, down 2% MoM, but up 21% YoY.