BYD currently accounts for nearly 10% of the global lithium-ion battery market share. BYD has also previously announced plans to establish a large lithium-ion battery plant in South America. As its production scale continues to expand, the BYD brand will become more competitive in the future battle for lithium-ion battery market share.
However, scale can only serve as data representing a company's production capacity. In an increasingly modernized production environment, technological level is the most important standard for judging a company's strength. Recently, BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu revealed that BYD has broken through technological bottlenecks and successfully developed lithium iron manganese phosphate batteries.
Lithium iron manganese phosphate (LMP) batteries have a higher energy density than traditional LMP batteries. It is understood that BYD's LMP batteries have reached the level of ternary materials. The secret to the Tesla Model S, which is currently receiving much attention in China and boasts a range of 500 kilometers, lies in its use of Panasonic's NXA ternary material batteries. If BYD were to use its independently developed LMP batteries in new energy vehicles, the range of domestically produced electric vehicles comparable to Tesla's would no longer be a dream.
Traditional lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries use cobalt, an element with limited reserves in my country, while LFP batteries require abundant manganese. Therefore, LFP batteries have a cost advantage. If widely adopted in new energy vehicles, the persistently high prices of these vehicles are expected to decrease.
With its long driving range and low cost, BYD has undoubtedly solved a major problem currently hindering the development of new energy vehicles: battery technology. However, the performance of lithium iron manganese phosphate batteries still needs further verification in terms of safety. CMIC believes that, given its absolute advantage, BYD needs to strengthen its safety controls. Only through rigorous processes can the BYD brand hope to accumulate strength and achieve lasting success in the lithium-ion battery and new energy vehicle fields.
