In recent days, some people have been discussing Tesla and BYD cars. Some people say that BYD is the world leader in three technologies, while Tesla has no advantage in this aspect. As I just said, news on the Internet about Tesla's future battery cost reduction is spreading throughout the automobile industry. Let's talk about each company's battery technology.
Cobalt, a rare metal, among the popular NCM811 lithium batteries on the market, is the most expensive. Musk compared cobalt to a stationary bookcase, and lithium is the book on the shelf. If you want to reduce costs, you need to consider the amount of cobalt. In Tesla's new battery cathode solution, while eliminating cobalt, it maximizes the practical proportion of nickel and uses new coatings and dopants to maintain battery performance. battery operating costsare reduced by 15%.
In order to reduce the production cost of battery cathodes, Tesla abandoned the production of sulfate battery cathodes and switched to new sulfate-free production, which reduced the investment costs by 66% and production costs. and can produce zero wastewater discharge.
Tesla launched the 4680 poleless battery cell at Battery Day, with a height of 80mm and a diameter of 46mm. This battery eliminates the tabs on the lithium battery cell and replaces them with tabs on the battery. Large area current collectors are designed at both ends of the interior. The charging and discharging power is 6 times that of the past, and the energy stored in the battery core is 5 times that of the past. This new type of battery is expected to be used in mass-produced vehicles around 2022. According to Tesla, battery costs could bebe reduced by 56%. Future Tesla products could be sold for the same price as fuel-powered vehicles, or even less.
BYD's most popular item recently is the blade battery. Media reports have argued that the “spontaneous combustion” of electric vehicles may disappear because of the blade battery. BYD has maintained battery safety with zero accidents for many years. Compared with ternary lithium batteries, lithium iron phosphate batteries are indeed safer, but in terms of energy density, ternary lithium batteries have more advantages. BYD's lithium iron phosphate blade batteries and square batteries have passed BYD's acupuncture test, proving to everyone how strong the safety performance of blade batteries is.
However, in terms of cost reduction, it is not clear to what extent the blade battery can reduce the cost. CertaiOur media claims that the cost can be reduced by 20%. A senior expert analyzed that blade batteries are mostly technological and structural innovations and cannot reduce the overall battery cost too much.
On the path of developing pure electric vehicles, reducing costs and ensuring safety is a necessity, and it is also a topic that the industry is constantly exploring. Tesla is reducing battery costs and battery prices. The whole vehicle will be comparable to fuel vehicles in the future. If this is true, many new energy vehicles, including BYD, will be greatly affected. I hope BYD will advance faster and more steadily on the path of new energy.
This article is from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.
As we all know, Tesla's market value now exceeds300 billion US dollars, which is already equivalent to the value of two Toyotas. It is currently the world's largest automobile manufacturer. Tesla, on the brink of the storm, is doing everything This is cause for concern. Tesla made an important decision this year, which is to use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to replace ternary lithium-ion batteries. The price of domestic Tesla has fallen to 300,000, or even less than 250,000, and monthly sales have exceeded 10,000. landscape.
So many people are wondering if this generation of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries will be Tesla's next key benefit?
Compared to the lithium-ion batteries previously used by Tesla, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are more economical and have a longer lifespan. Although LFP batteries are not typically used in electric vehicles, due to space constraints, a breakthroughe was carried out and Tesla obtained significant results.
Lithium iron phosphate batteries are cheaper to make, mainly because they don't use cobalt, the most expensive metal in electric vehicle batteries. Tesla worked with a research group at Dalhousie University in Canada to develop the technology, and the batteries could end up costing less than $80 per kilowatt hour (kWh), which would be much lower than what Tesla paid in 2019 .around $130 per kilowatt hour. Assuming that Tesla vehicles are equipped with 70 kWh batteries, Tesla can reduce the cost of each vehicle by more than US$3,000 after using LFP batteries.
These batteries are also safer and last longer than traditional lithium-ion batteries. Tesla's current battery degradation rate is already quite low, with capacity loss of around 10% at around 200,000miles on Models X and S, and the company says its battery design already helps its cars last longer. But if the batteries last longer, they will retain better value even after the car is scrapped and can be reused for other applications, such as energy storage, or even in new electric vehicles. This will effectively reduce the cost of ownership of Tesla vehicles. Reusing batteries can also provide environmental benefits.
Bloomberg data shows that the battery cost of Tesla vehicles fell from $230 per kilowatt hour in 2016 to $127 in 2019. According to the report, between 2016 and 2018, the average cost of a battery (battery + packaging) in the industry fell from US$288 to US$176.
Obviously, by using less expensive lithium iron phosphate batteries, Tesla's price will also drop, increasingwill significantly reduce its sales. But what many people don't know is that Tesla's battery costs are about 20% lower than the industry average, due to the company's higher production volume and battery chemistry. In other words, Tesla builds cars more cheaply and can have a higher gross profit margin than its previous imported cars.
Although the cost of batteries is considered the main cost driver of electric vehicles, prices have fallen rapidly as technology advances and production increases. Judging from the current performance, the use of lithium iron phosphate batteries has indeed brought huge sales to Tesla, and its profits have also increased a lot. But everyone knows that Tesla is not just an automaker that just sells cars. The cost of batteries can represent the volume of salesTesla's is a key factor in volume improvement, but it is not the deciding factor.
In addition to the vehicle sales business, Tesla's after-sales service and charging batteries make up the bulk of Tesla's profits driving the increase in sales. Because of these activities, once you buy a car, it's a bundle sale. , and Tesla owners should be aware of this.
This article is from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.