Like the engine, gearbox, and chassis, which are the three key components of traditional fuel vehicles, in the new energy vehicle industry, the "three electric" technologies of motors, batteries, and electronic control are commonly referred to as core technologies.
In the traditional automotive field, domestic cars have a significant gap in technology accumulation such as engines and transmissions compared to international standards, while the major difference between new energy vehicles and traditional cars is that they can independently bypass traditional fuel vehicles and technological limitations.
Is there a gap between domestic and foreign new energy vehicle companies, and how big is the gap? Is it possible for Chinese new energy vehicles to overtake on curves? Here we will provide a simple interpretation.
The power battery industry has reached a new peak
Not long ago, foreign media released the 2017 global sales ranking of new energy vehicle companies, and the performance of the Chinese army was impressive. While major companies achieved good results, the power battery industry also ushered in a new peak.
Overall, the new energy vehicle battery market in Europe and America is still dominated by Japan and South Korea, and Chinese battery companies are also actively cooperating with international automotive giants in order to open up a broader market.
Due to the inclusion of automotive alliance factors in this ranking, there have been significant changes compared to the past. In the single sales chart, BYD ranks high. However, after Mitsubishi joined the Renault Nissan alliance, BYD only came in second with a gap of 5246 vehicles.
The main models of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance include the Nissan Leaf, e-NV200, and Renault Zoe. The Nissan Leaf ranked fourth on the 2017 global new energy vehicle sales chart and is a very mature model. Previously, it used the AESC battery jointly produced by Nissan and NEC. However, AESC was sold to China's Jinshajiang Venture Capital in 2017, and Nissan began searching for new supporting batteries for the Leaf as early as 2015. LG Chemical has been frequently mentioned.
The Renault Zoe is also a very popular pure electric vehicle, with batteries provided by LG Chem.
BYD, which ranks second, needless to say, naturally uses its own batteries. As a representative of China's new energy vehicles, BYD has connected the industry chain from batteries to vehicles. Faced with the rapidly changing new energy market, BYD is also trying to transform. In addition to shifting towards ternary lithium batteries in the passenger car field, battery splitting and export have become a major business of BYD.
BAIC Group has long dominated the single vehicle sales chart with its EC series. BAIC has close cooperation with battery companies such as Guoxuan High tech and Funeng Technology. On May 28, 2017, BAIC and Guoxuan High tech signed a large order of 1.875 billion yuan. At the end of December 2017, BAIC and Funeng Technology signed a strategic procurement agreement for one million batteries over a five-year period.
Geely Group's ranking in fourth place is largely due to the efforts of Zhidou D2, as well as Geely's Emgrand EV, Global Hawk and other models. Zhidou mainly uses batteries from Boston and Duofluoro, while the Geely Emgrand EV uses ternary lithium batteries from CATL.
Tesla ranks fifth. Due to production capacity and other reasons, the sales contribution of Tesla Model 3 is not significant, and it has not been able to complete the ramp up of mass production until today. As a result, Tesla has convened Samsung and LG with the intention of opening up new suppliers.
Ranked sixth and seventh, both BMW and Volkswagen have partnerships with Samsung SDI and domestic CATL. The cooperation between BMW and CATL has led to the emergence of battery dominance, but BMW has closer cooperation with Samsung SDI in overseas markets. In the strategy of mass electrification, Chinese battery companies are also actively participating, such as CATL.
Toyota, which is well-known to the public, ranks tenth not because of its weak strength, but because Toyota only has the hybrid model, the Prius Prime. In addition, Toyota has also launched the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, but the delivery quantity is not high. The early Prius Prime was paired with nickel hydrogen batteries, and its upgraded version will also use lithium batteries. Toyota also announced a collaboration with Panasonic to develop lithium batteries.
Toyota's hybrid and hydrogen powered models are in the industry, and in response to the growing pure electric market, Toyota has also begun to compromise and is preparing to release pure electric models in advance. In addition, Toyota is also vigorously developing solid-state battery projects.
The market pattern of motor and electronic control is not yet clear
As a substitute for traditional engine and transmission functions, the performance of the motor and electronic control system directly determines the main performance indicators of electric vehicles, such as climbing, acceleration, and speed.
Under the rapid growth of production and sales of new energy vehicles, China's new energy vehicle motor and electronic control installation market is also showing a trend of rapid growth. In 2017, the installed capacity of electric motors and electronic controls for new energy vehicles in China reached 874200 units, a year-on-year increase of 55.7%. From January to March 2018, the installed capacity of electric motors and electronic controls for new energy vehicles was 155100 units.
At present, the motors used in new energy vehicles are permanent magnet synchronous motors, AC asynchronous motors, and other motors. From the perspective of the market structure of motor types, permanent magnet synchronous motors are mainly used. In 2017, the installed capacity of permanent magnet synchronous motors in the new energy vehicle field reached 685100 units, accounting for over 78%; The installed capacity of AC asynchronous motors is nearly 190000 units, accounting for 21.4%.
In terms of specific manufacturers, according to the ranking of motor and electronic control installed capacity from 2017 to March 2018, it was found that among the top 10 manufacturers, the installed capacity of drive motors exceeded 20000 units, and the installed capacity of electronic control exceeded 10000 units. Among them, BYD ranks first in both motor and electronic control installations, with installed units of 178300 and 188700 respectively; BAIC New Energy also has an installed capacity of over 100000 electric motors and electronic controls, both of which are 126300 units, ranking second. In addition, Anhui Juyi, Jiangling New Energy, UAES, Changan Automobile and other electric motors and electronic control installations are all in the range of 30000 to 40000 units.
From the perspective of supporting supply in the electric motor and electronic control market of new energy vehicles, BYD's electric motors are mainly supplied to two car companies: BYD and Beijing Hualinte, and the electronic control is produced by itself; The motors of BAIC New Energy are mainly supplied to our company, while the electrical control is provided by Jingjin and Dayang.
A new energy vehicle motor and power system provider similar to Jingjin Electric, serving enterprises such as Anyuan Bus, Dandong Huanghai, Dongfeng, Ankai, Great Wall, Geely, GAC, and Bailujia.
Overall, the main participants in the new energy vehicle motor and electronic control market can be roughly divided into two categories. One type is traditional vehicle enterprises with self-produced capabilities or related supply chains, such as BYD, BAIC, Xiamen Jinlong, etc; The second category refers to suppliers specializing in automotive parts or motor electronic control products. Specifically, they can also be divided into automotive parts suppliers (Bosch, mainland China, etc.), motor electronic control manufacturers (Shanghai Electric Drive, Shanghai Dajun, etc.), and traditional motor and frequency converter manufacturers (Huichuan Technology, Yingweiteng, etc.).
At present, leading passenger car and bus vehicle companies tend to have their own electric motors and electronic controls, while third-party enterprises have obvious advantages in the small and medium-sized bus and vehicle industry, while their penetration rate in the passenger car industry is relatively low.
Due to the fact that the electric motor and electronic control industry of new energy vehicles is basically launched synchronously with the domestic electric vehicle market, industry related standards and systems have not yet been formed, and vehicle manufacturers and third-party suppliers each occupy advantageous positions, the market competition pattern is not yet clear.