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在线翻译:
szdaily -> World Economy -> 
EV mania turns battery makers into power brokers
    2020-10-26  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

AUTOMAKERS are investing billions of dollars to bring new electric vehicles (EVs) to consumers globally, but their success hinges on securing the most critical and expensive component: the battery.

A handful of companies based in China, Japan and South Korea make automotive-grade battery cells, which has upset the traditional dynamic between carmakers and parts suppliers. These battery giants — though little known to the general public and relatively new to the auto industry’s sprawling supply chain — are key to manufacturers’ goals of bringing dozens of new EV models to U.S. showrooms by 2025.

“There are not enough batteries to fulfill the automakers’ near-term promises,” said Sam Jaffe, managing director of Cairn ERA, an energy-storage consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado. “A lot of new battery factories are being built. But there is a battery-supply problem in the near term. All of the incumbent automakers are scrambling at this point.”

Strained logistics, production delays and battles over intellectual property have heightened tensions between carmakers and this new breed of supplier, which wields far greater leverage than suppliers of camshafts, mufflers and pistons.

Shortages loom as an even larger problem, albeit one that may only be short-term as battery manufacturers ramp up output. Volkswagen AG unit Audi had to pause production in February of its e-Tron, and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc. of the Tata Group that same month reportedly suspended output of the I-Pace due to bottlenecks with battery supplier LG Chem Ltd.

The battery alone accounts for one quarter to almost half the cost of an EV, and the top six suppliers controlled 87 percent of the global market last year, according to an Oct. 21 research report by UBS Securities. “Even with growing China exports, we expect the overseas battery market to remain tight,” it said.

Suppliers of batteries are wary of over-committing to any one automaker and eager to recoup the billions of dollars they have spent on production lines around the globe. Many are hedging their bets by crafting agreements with more than one partner. This small club includes the two South Korean rivals, Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. of China and Japan’s Panasonic Corp.

“Battery suppliers can be very picky with their OEMs,” said Nathalie Capati, a former battery engineer at General Motors Co. and Apple Inc. who now runs the Battery Lab, a consulting firm in San Francisco. “There are only a few cell suppliers who can meet their quality and volume. The automakers are at the mercy of cell suppliers these days.”

By 2022, more than 500 different electric models will be available globally, according to an EV forecast from BNEF, which estimates that over half of all passenger vehicles sold will be electric by 2040.

“A new arms race has begun,” said Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board. “It’s an electric race to get to cheaper and more powerful batteries, and it’s one that manufacturers around the world are competing in.”(SD-Agencies)

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