According to Securities Times, on March 25th, Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of CATL, stated in an interview that CATL is collaborating with Tesla to develop batteries with faster charging speeds. Both parties are jointly researching new electrochemical structures and other battery technologies, aiming to accelerate charging speed.
Zeng Yuqun revealed that CATL is providing equipment to Tesla's factory in Nevada, USA. In addition, Zeng Yuqun also expressed optimistic views on the model of Ningde Times authorizing battery manufacturing technology to partners, collecting franchise fees, and providing services. Zeng Yuqun also stated in an interview that although CATL does have a second listing plan, its stable cash flow means that the company will not be in a hurry to raise more funds immediately and dilute the equity of existing shareholders.
In the view of Wu Kai, Chief Scientist of CATL, the best way to further expand the new energy vehicle market is to develop super fast charging, shorten charging time, and effectively solve users' anxiety about energy replenishment.
At present, overcharging can be roughly divided into two technical directions, one is high current DC overcharging, and the other is high voltage DC overcharging, which increases the charging rate by increasing the current or voltage. The unit used to measure the charging and discharging rate of power batteries is commonly seen as "C". The mainstream charging rate of various car companies is approximately between 1C and 2C. Simply put, 1C refers to being able to fully charge the battery system in 60 minutes, 2C charging takes 30 minutes to fully charge, 3C charging takes one-third of an hour to fully charge, and 4C represents being able to fully charge the battery in 15 minutes.
According to the investor relations activity record released by Ningde Times on October 20, 2023, the company released the world's first lithium-iron phosphate 4C Shenxing overcharged battery, which achieves ultra fast charging, long range, and high safety, and can achieve "charging for 10 minutes and a range of 400 kilometers".
According to Ningde Times, it only took 2 months from the release of the Shenxing Supercharged Battery to its first model, truly achieving the Shenxing speed of "fast charging, fast loading, and fast mass production". Relying on Ningde Times' leading extreme manufacturing capabilities, Shenxing Supercharged Battery will achieve mass production by the end of 2023, and models equipped with Shenxing Supercharged Battery will be launched in the first quarter of 2024.
Ningde Times had previously publicly responded with a positive and optimistic attitude towards 4C fast charging technology. Ningde Times believes that in the long run, car companies have a strong willingness to launch differentiated competitive products, and it is expected that 4C fast charging technology will occupy a considerable market share. However, CATL also reminds that the application scale of 4C fast charging technology is not only determined by the battery, but also depends more on the vehicle model planning of the car company.
While the cooperation with Tesla has brought significant benefits, CATL is rapidly advancing in overseas markets.
According to the latest statistics from South Korean research firm SNE Research, in January 2024, the installed capacity of power batteries for electric vehicles (including pure electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid oil electric) in all global markets except for the Chinese market was approximately 22.2GWh, a year-on-year increase of 30.1%.
Among the top 10 companies with installed capacity in the current overseas market, CATL has surpassed LG New Energy and won the championship; China Innovation Airlines, BYD, and Funeng Technology ranked among the top three in year-on-year growth, indicating strong overall momentum among Chinese battery companies.
It is worth noting that the total market share of overseas installed capacity of Chinese battery companies has reached 34.2%, which means that the overseas market share of Chinese battery companies has exceeded one-third.
On the evening of March 15th, Ningde Times released its 2023 financial report. In 2023, Ningde Times achieved a revenue of 400.92 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.01%; The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 44.121 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 43.58%; We plan to distribute a total of 22.06 billion yuan in cash through annual cash dividends and annual special dividends, with a dividend payout rate close to 50%. Both the dividend amount and dividend payout rate have broken the historical record of Ningde Times.
In addition to a record high revenue, CATL's annual net profit exceeded 40 billion yuan for the first time, which is also the first time that the annual net profit of a listed company in China's automotive industry chain has exceeded 40 billion yuan. IPG China Chief Economist Bai Wenxi told a reporter from the New Beijing News and Shell Finance that Ningde Times' record breaking performance last year is related to its advantages in the field of power batteries, with relatively strong cost control, product premiums, and profitability.
Main performance data. Screenshot of Ningde Times Financial Report
The financial report shows that the overseas market growth rate of Ningde Times was faster than that of the domestic market last year. In 2023, Ningde Times' overseas revenue was 130.992 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 70.29%, accounting for 32.67% of the overall revenue; In 2022, this proportion was 23.41%. Last year, the domestic business growth rate of CATL was relatively small, only a year-on-year increase of 7.25%.
IPG China Chief Economist Bai Wenxi stated that the domestic market is fiercely competitive, and there is greater development space in overseas markets; Qu Fang, an investment advisor at Wanlian Securities, further explained that the main reasons are the technological advantages and diversity of product types. Compared to the single route of Japanese and Korean companies, CATL has more options for batteries.
However, at the same time, many experts also believe that there is still a "headwind" in overseas markets. Hong Yang stated that, for example, due to geopolitical factors, the EU may introduce relevant policies targeting China's upstream industrial chain in the future; Overall, the development speed in the US market may slow down, while in the European market, localization development may be achieved through joint ventures and factory construction.
On March 26th, Ningde Times opened high and rose high, with a market value of 841.537 billion yuan as of the publication report of 191.30 yuan, an increase of 3.52%.
Daily Economic News, Comprehensive Securities Times, New Beijing News, Shell Finance, Daily Economic News, and publicly available market information
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