Battery price war: CATL, BYD pushing battery costs down further

As the price war for electric vehicles (EVs) continues, so does the price war for power batteries, with the world's largest battery makers reportedly pushing battery costs down further.

To secure its market position, CATL is sorting out production line resources and pushing for cost reductions, local media outlet 36kr said in a January 16 report, citing several industry chain sources.

CATL is marketing 173-Ah VDA-spec lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells with 2.2C fast charging as standard to automakers, according to the report.

VDA is a size specification for square cells, with length, width and height of 148 mm, 26.5 mm and 91 mm, respectively. 

C refers to the charging multiplier of the battery, and 2C means that the battery can theoretically be fully charged in one-half hour.

The cells, which offer better performance without a price increase, are aimed at battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that sell for between 100,000 yuan ($13,900) and 200,000 yuan, the report said, citing an unnamed industry source.

Several automakers will switch to the CATL cell in mid-2024 at a price not exceeding RMB 0.4/Wh, according to the report.

Meanwhile, BYD's (OTCMKTS: BYDDF) battery unit FinDreams issued an internal notice urging its teams to continue to reduce costs, the report noted.

CATL and BYD are the two largest power battery makers, with the former having a global share of 37.4 percent in the January-November period and the latter at 15.7 percent, according to data released on January 9 by South Korean market researcher SNE Research.

Ref: Battery price war: CATL, BYD pushing battery costs down further (cnevpost)

Photo Credit:  CnEVPost