Panasonic, Japan's lithium-ion battery maker, has seen its SHOWTIME in the Korean market in 2017, following Korea's Powertrain lithium-ion battery company's surge in production in China. Panasonic, which accounts for 40 percent of the global market for lithium-ion batteries for passenger cars, announced that it will invest 100 billion yen to increase production of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in Japan, China and the United States. Among them, China's Dalian base plans to build a second factory, the processing scale will be increased about 1 times.
Combined with the fact that Panasonic dalian base put into production in April this year and announced the construction of power lithium ion battery plant in Jiangsu in May, Panasonic's intention to increase the market size of China's power lithium ion battery is clear. But this is not surprising.
According to data, in the first three quarters of 2017, the domestic production of new energy vehicles rose 40.9% year-on-year to 396,000 units, driving the domestic power lithium-ion battery production up 42.1% year-on-year to 32.02GWh, the output has exceeded the whole year of 2016. Entering the fourth peak season of the industry, the above data will be significantly improved.
It is worth noting that in the face of China's broad future direction, before the South Korean power lithium ion battery giants Samsung, LG also high-profile layout of power lithium ion battery factory in China, but the results are not satisfactory. So, the panasonic in the end to increase the strength of what? Will it open a new chapter for foreign companies to start production in China, or will it follow in the footsteps of Samsung and LG?
Panasonic, Samsung and LG have different layout rhythms
Most of the Korean lithium-ion battery plants in China have been in operation since 2015. In contrast, Panasonic has expressed the intention of "not being in a hurry" throughout the whole process of building factories in China.
In October 2015, Samsung SDI invested us $600 million in Xi 'an Battery Factory, which can produce 3.6 million battery cells per year and supply power for 40,000 high-performance vehicles (pure electric EV standard). According to the plan, Samsung will also increase battery cell production to 31.2 million units per year in multiple stages by 2020.
In the same month that the Xi 'an plant was put into operation, Samsung and A Chinese company jointly invested and built tianjin Power Lithium ion battery Plant, which is critical to process round lithium ion batteries including energy type power lithium ion batteries for vehicles.
But in both Xi 'an and Tianjin, Samsung encountered "". In March, it was revealed that the production line of Samsung SDI's Xi 'an plant in China had been idle for several months and its plans to expand production had also been suspended. In October, Tianjin battery factory became insolvent, and Our shareholders Tianjin Zhonghuan and KeKAI State Capital transferred 10% and 20% equity of Samsung Tianjin Battery Factory respectively.
LG's Battery plant in China is also suffering. LG Nanjing New Energy Battery Plant, which went into operation in October 2015, is expected to meet the power demand of more than 50,000 pure electric vehicles (based on electric vehicles with a range of 320km on a single charge) and more than 180,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). But industry sources said the plant's production line was largely idle and LG was interested in selling the project to SAIC as a package.
In fact, Panasonic s intention to enter the Korean market is no later than that of Korean battery companies. As early as December 2015, Panasonic announced that it would cooperate with a Chinese partner to build its first Lithium-ion battery plant for vehicles in China in Dalian. With a planned investment of 50 billion yen, the plant will process rectangular batteries used in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 electric vehicles. But it's worth noting that the project didn't go into production until April this year.
A month after the Dalian plant opened, Panasonic stepped up its announcement that it would work with the Suzhou government and others to build a second power lithium-ion battery plant in Jiangsu province to process ternary lithium-ion batteries, with an estimated annual output of about 100 million cells.
Compared with dalian plant, the investment and construction pace of Panasonic Jiangsu plant is clearly accelerated, and it is expected to be put into operation in the second half of 2017.
The environment is increasingly conducive to panasonic's expansion and future development challenges
As is known to all, China's new energy vehicle industry is greatly affected by policy factors. In 2015, when Korean power lithium ion battery plants were put into production in China, the strength of local power lithium ion battery companies was relatively weak. In this context, the government has issued a number of notices, catalogues and standards related to new energy vehicles and power lithium ion batteries, which has caused a great impact on foreign power lithium ion battery companies.
The development of Korean power lithium ion battery in Chinese market is gradually difficult from the initial high momentum.
Panasonic in China layout slightly slow, but not too much impact. And panasonic in the Chinese market add code layout, or change with the industry environment has a great relationship.
Nearly two years with the national policy support, power lithium ion battery specification gradually perfecting and strengthening technology research and development company, local power lithium ion battery technology, the various properties of yield and quality significantly increased, emerging era of ningde, byd, etc with international competitive power lithium ion battery company, and has set up a build more powerful industrial chain supporting system, Steadily occupy the corresponding domestic market.
At the same time, China's new energy policy has been suitable for foreign power lithium ion battery companies to develop a new trend. The difficulty for foreign battery companies to enter the list has also improved. New energy vehicles powered by AESC and Sanyo's lithium-ion batteries have started to appear in the fifth recommended list released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, easing the difficulties faced by foreign battery companies.
At this time, Panasonic's entry, not only will not form a strong threat to local power lithium ion battery companies, perhaps also set off a "catfish effect".
It's worth noting that Panasonic's expansion in China may also have something to do with Tesla.
Tesla's recent Model3 has been Mired in "mass production hell" due to the lagging battery processing. According to the report, Tesla executives met with Samsung and LG executives due to the pressure of battery supply, which was interpreted as a signal that Tesla is expanding cooperation with external supply of lithium-ion batteries.
Moreover, tesla has been rumored to build a factory in China this year. In October, Gao Feng, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, confirmed that Tesla is currently in communication with the Shanghai municipal government about building a factory and that the country intends to relax investment access in strategic emerging sectors.
As a battery supplier closely tied to Tesla, it is imperative for Panasonic to expand production. Considering the fact that Panasonic will build a sanyuan lithium-ion battery plant in Jiangsu, which is near Shanghai, many industry insiders speculate that the plant may be set up to match the battery demand of Tesla's Factory in China.
Of course, Panasonic is expanding production in China, aiming at the huge Lithium-ion battery market in China in addition to Tesla, but it faces challenges from domestic companies with local advantages.
It is understood that Panasonic previously by virtue of the excellent performance of power lithium ion battery harvest part of the domestic car orders, such as emerging car manufacturers car and home, the first generation of its SEV products carried power lithium ion battery products are produced from Panasonic. However, in the latest supply chain cooperation companies announced on the official website of Car and home, there is no trace of Panasonic, instead of the domestic power lithium ion battery leading company Ningde Times.
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