According to Wind statistics, in March 2024, the lithium battery sector index fell by 0.05%, while the new energy vehicle index rose by 3.90%. In comparison, the CSI 300 index fell by 0.01%. The lithium battery index performed weaker than the CSI 300 index, whereas the new energy vehicle index performed stronger.
Sales of New Energy Vehicles and Industry Prices
In March 2024, new energy vehicle sales in China recovered with a year-on-year increase of 35.28% and a sequential increase of 85.12%. The overall price reduction of new energy vehicles has led to an improvement in cost-effectiveness, which has driven the growth in sales. Since the beginning of 2024, the cumulative sales of new energy vehicles in China have reached 2.089 million units, a year-on-year increase of 31.76%.
Sales of Pure Electric New Energy Vehicles
In March 2024, the sales of pure electric new energy vehicles in China reached 546,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 11.50% and a sequential increase of 85.71%. Sales of BYD New. In March 2024, BYD's new energy vehicle sales reached 302,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 46.06% and a sequential increase of 147.29%. Global Sales of New Energy Vehicles. In February 2024, global sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 830,800 units, a year-on-year increase of 2.25%. Output of Power Batteries, In February 2024, the combined output of China's power and energy storage batteries was 43.6 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%.
In 2021, BYD's new energy vehicle sales reached 603,800 units, a significant year-on-year increase of 218.30%, with the proportion rising sharply to 81.58%. In 2022, BYD's new energy vehicle sales totaled 1,863,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 208.64%. Since BYD focused on the development of new energy vehicles and stopped selling fuel vehicles in April 2022, the proportion increased sharply to 99.73%. In 2023, a total of 3,024,400 units were sold, a year-on-year increase of 62.30%, including a total of 242,800 units sold overseas.
In 2021, global sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 6.5 million units, a year-on-year increase of 108%. In 2022, a total of 10.0753 million units were sold, a year-on-year increase of 56.40%, with the share increasing from 9% in 2021 to 14% in 2022. The high growth of new energy vehicles worldwide is mainly due to the growth of China's new energy vehicle market, with China's share of the global new energy vehicle market increasing from 51% in 2021 to 65% in 2022. In 2023, global sales of new energy passenger vehicles totaled 13.6858 million units, a year-on-year increase of 35.84%, accounting for a 16% share of the overall market (with pure electric vehicle models accounting for 11%).
Installation of Power Batteries
In February 2024, the installation of power batteries for new energy vehicles in China was 18.0 GWh, a year-on-year decrease of 17.94%. Long-term Development of New Energy Vehicle Industry. The rapid development of China's new energy vehicle industry is supported by multiple factors. The Central Economic Work Conference in December 2023 emphasized the deepening of ecological civilization construction and green, low-carbon development. In 2024, the policy of exempting new energy vehicle purchase tax was continued and optimized. The decline in the prices of upstream raw materials is conducive to reducing the prices of power batteries and enhancing the cost-effectiveness of new energy vehicles. With automotive consumption being one of the key support areas in 2024, the global competitive advantage of China's new energy vehicle industry chain is significant, and the driving force of the industry's development has gradually shifted to strong product-driven factors. It is expected that the sales of new energy vehicles in China will continue to grow in 2024, and overseas exports require close attention to the impact of overseas trade barriers.
According to data from the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance: In 2021, China's power battery output reached 219.68 GWh, a significant year-on-year increase of 163.34%. In 2022, the total output was 545.22 GWh, a significant year-on-year increase of 148.19%, marking two consecutive years of doubling growth. In 2023, the combined output of power and energy storage batteries in China was 778.10 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 42.5%.
According to data from the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance: In 2021, the total installation of power batteries for new energy vehicles in China was 155.02 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 143.63%. In 2022, the total installation was 294.66 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 90.09%. In 2023, the cumulative installation of power batteries for new energy vehicles in China was 387.65 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 31.56%.
Prices of the Industrial Chain
According to data from Wind: In 2020, the price of lithium carbonate initially declined then rose, touching a low in early July before a continuous increase to 53,500 yuan/ton by December 31. Since 2021, the price of lithium carbonate has generally soared, with battery-grade lithium carbonate rising from 53,500 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year to 282,000 yuan/ton by the end of the year, an increase of 427.10% from the beginning of 2021. Since the beginning of 2022, the price of lithium carbonate has generally continued to rise, peaking in December before falling. Since 2023, the overall trend has been under pressure. As of April 10, 2024, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate was 113,500 yuan/ton, an increase of 14.07% from 99,500 yuan/ton at the beginning of March 2024.
