The prices of lithium, cobalt, nickel and other battery raw materials are high. There are four "rising voices" of new energy vehicles.

Although at the end of last year, a number of car companies and power battery companies had expected that the price of new energy vehicles would rise this year, the current wave of price increases for new energy vehicles, no matter in terms of the number of models or the extent of price increases, have exceeded expectations.

In the last three days, Tesla, Chery New Energy, BYD and other car companies have announced price increases one after another:

The basic price of the, Model Y rear wheel drive version has been raised by 15060 yuan to 316900 yuan, according to Tesla's information on China's official website on March 17. On March 15, the prices of domestic Model Y long-lasting and high-performance models rose from 357900 yuan and 397900 yuan to 375900 yuan and 417900 yuan respectively, up 18000 yuan and 20, 000 yuan respectively. So far, the prices of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y models have gone up.

Chery New Energy announced on March 16 that due to the continued sharp rise in raw material prices, Chery New Energy vehicles will adjust the official guidance prices for small ant-related new energy models, ranging from 3000 yuan to 6000 yuan, effective 00:00 on March 17. customers who sign up with a deposit before this will not be affected by the price adjustment.

On March 15, BYD officially released the "explanation on vehicle Price Adjustment", saying that due to the impact of the continued sharp rise in raw material prices, BYD will adjust the official guidance prices of new energy models related to Dynasty and Ocean. the increase ranges from 3000 yuan to 6000 yuan, and the announcement has come into effect. In January this year, BYD also announced that it would adjust the official guidance prices of new energy models related to Dynasty and Ocean net, ranging from 1000 yuan to 7000 yuan.

According to a report released by CCTV Finance on March 11, nearly 20 new energy car companies have announced price increases since March, involving nearly 40 models. This round of price increases range from a thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan.

With regard to the recent rise in the price of new energy vehicles in China, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Federation of passengers, said in an analysis on March 16 that the price adjustment reflects the good situation of the demand for new energy vehicles as a whole. Now, in the case of high oil prices, the performance-to-price ratio of new energy vehicles has been significantly improved, while the rigid demand of consumers of new energy vehicles is strong, and the price sensitivity is relatively low. therefore, small price changes will not affect consumers' demand for new energy vehicles.

In Cui Dongshu's view, the challenge and opportunity brought by the price increase to the development of the new energy vehicle industry is to improve technology and reduce costs, design optimization and other importance, this price increase reflects the development of new energy vehicles is also healthier.

From the reasons released by car companies, the sharp rise in raw materials in the short term and the decline of new energy car subsidies are the main reasons for the price rise.

In terms of the price trend of raw materials, lithium, based on the information of many quotation platforms, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate remains above 500000 yuan / ton, and some traders are still raising the shipping price, and even some enterprises are raising their shipping prices by 10, 000 yuan / ton in one day; battery-grade lithium hydroxide is also quoted at more than 450000 yuan / ton, and some enterprises are offering more than 490000 yuan / ton.

In terms of cobalt, the average spot price of electrolytic cobalt in China was 570500 yuan / ton, up 275500 yuan / ton or 93.39% from the beginning of 2021, and the average spot price of cobalt powder was 645000 yuan / ton, according to the data released by Shanghai Nonferrous Metals Network on March 16. the price is at a three-year high.

In terms of nickel, the current nickel price is still on the high side. On March 16, the price of nickel in the Yangtze River Nonferrous Network was 226900-228400 yuan / ton, with an average price of 227650 yuan / ton, showing a slight decline. According to the data released by SMM, the price of battery-grade nickel sulfate was between 49000 yuan / ton and 53000 yuan / ton on March 16, unchanged from the previous day.

At present, most battery materials are in a high stable state, and this trend is expected to be difficult to change in the short term.

Soochow Securities released a research report that the industry chain, lithium carbonate, diaphragm, copper foil, graphitization are tight throughout 2022, and short-term lithium carbonate and graphitization become the bottleneck of the industry, which will be alleviated in the second quarter. In terms of batteries, the negotiations on battery prices basically landed in the first quarter. Domestic mainstream car companies raised prices by 5-10%, covering the rise in raw material costs. At the same time, battery prices increased by 10%, and bicycle costs increased by about 4000 yuan. Car companies can basically afford it. At present, the price increase of lithium carbonate is higher than expected, the industrial chain has not yet started the second price negotiation, and the short-term cost pressure is borne by battery companies. Battery companies are expected to have greater profit pressure in the first half of 2022. After the second half of 2022, the shortage of some raw materials will ease, the cost side is expected to decline, and the profits of battery companies are expected to improve.

In addition, the recent high shock of international crude oil, March 17, the domestic oil price adjustment window will open again. A number of institutions expect oil prices to usher in a "five-game rise" this year, with an increase of 0.63-0.70 yuan per liter, and 95 gasoline may enter the "9-yuan era." It is expected that the rise in oil prices has prompted more and more consumers to turn to new energy vehicles, coupled with green card rigid demand, to support the upward price of new energy vehicles.