Battery price inquiry from China to Bucharest

In China, LFP battery packs now cost $75/kWh, and at that level, companies can sell EVs at the same price as or even lower than combustion engine models. Nearly two-thirds of EVs in the country are already cheaper than their ICE counterparts. The decline in battery prices in China will eventually benefit consumers in the global markets as well.

That's remarkably lower than the average global rate in 2023 ($95/kWh). Bloomberg attributes not one but three factors to the fast-falling and significantly low battery cost in China: declining raw-material prices, overcapacity, and shrinking margins. Raw material prices took a big hit in the last one and a half years.

Nearly two-thirds of EVs in the country are already cheaper than their ICE counterparts. The decline in battery prices in China will eventually benefit consumers in the global markets as well. The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) industry could benefit the most from plummeting battery prices.

China's battery plants were running at 51 per cent capacity in 2022, and then further lower at 43 per cent in 2023, and Bloomberg estimates that these manufacturing facilities will remain even more idle this year. Average prices are closing in on estimated manufacturing costs, suggesting a drop in margins.

That's why Chinese companies such as CATL have all but monopolized the market on another chemistry, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. These batteries are cheaper, as they have no cobalt. They have other benefits too: a longer usable life and less risk of fire than traditional lithium battery chemistries.

China's battery makers have cornered the market in lithium iron phosphate batteries. But they aren't the only game in town. Tesla electric cars have long been powered by batteries from Japan's Panasonic and South Korea's LG.