Why is Mercedes-Benz deeply bound to Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd.? Equilibrium game between main engine factory and battery factory

"Mercedes-Benz, a shareholder of Daimler Group, announced the deepening of battery research and development with Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. (300750). SZ) and confirmed that Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. is its main supplier. May I ask the company, what is the purpose of the cooperation between Mercedes-Benz (hereinafter referred to as Mercedes-Benz) and Contemporary Amp Technology Co., Ltd., and will it affect the cooperation with the company? " On August 6th, some investors asked Funeng Technology (688567. SH) such a problem.

On the evening of August 5th, Mercedes-Benz and Contemporary Amperex Technology (Limited) announced that they would jointly develop high-tech battery technology to support the large-scale electrification of Mercedes-Benz vehicle lineup. After that, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. will become the head supplier of Mercedes-Benz to ensure the battery supply of the next generation EQ products in the next few years.

Such a problem is a bit embarrassing for Funeng Technology, which just got Daimler's strategic investment a month ago. However, Funeng Technology replied to investors that the agreement between the company and Mercedes-Benz is progressing smoothly and there is no unfavorable situation. The company also provides samples to customers. According to the project plan, the official mass production time is 202 1 year.

But from another point of view, under the wave of electrification, major OEMs at home and abroad began to race around and build a stable battery supply chain system. However, unlike other supply relationships, batteries are not only automobile parts, but also scarce resources. The main engine factory will choose a number of battery factories to cooperate, and the battery factory will also serve a number of main engine factories. Therefore, the relationship between the main engine factory and the battery factory has become a complementary but subtle relationship.

In this context, how to build a balanced cooperative ecology tests the wisdom of the OEM.

In fact, the cooperation between Daimler and Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. can be traced back to two years ago. On May 20 18, Daimler signed a contract with Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., and Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. entered Daimler's battery supply chain system. On September 20 19, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. signed a global power battery purchase agreement with Daimler Bus Company to provide power battery products for its electric series trucks. According to the agreement, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. will provide power batteries for several truck series launched by Daimler Bus Company from 202 1.

The cooperation between the two sides is based on previous cooperation, by going up one flight of stairs. According to the agreement between the two parties, the cooperation between the two parties covers many fields of power battery technology, including providing batteries and modules for Mercedes-Benz passenger car products, providing overall battery systems for Mercedes-Benz light commercial vehicle products, and providing CTP (modular battery pack) design for some Mercedes-Benz projects. In addition, the two partners have started the research and development of the next generation battery, and the research and development results will be applied to the new models launched by Mercedes-Benz in the next few years.

It is not difficult to see that both parties have set high goals for this cooperation, and EQS equipped with the battery module of Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. is the best proof. According to public information, the cruising range of EQS will exceed 700 kilometers (WLTP standard, that is, the world light vehicle test regulations), and the charging speed is twice as fast as that of existing models. It is expected to be delivered to the market in 20021year.

At the same time, in order to meet the requirements of "carbon neutrality" of Mercedes-Benz, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. will make a lot of improvements in the production process. According to Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., these measures will include the use of renewable energy (such as wind energy, solar energy, hydropower and so on). ) and recycling battery raw materials for sustainable battery production; Minimize carbon emissions in battery supply chain logistics; Use blockchain technology to track and count the carbon emissions in the battery supply chain; Help suppliers collect and optimize carbon emission data in the production process; Establish an ISO5000 1 energy management system to continuously reduce the energy consumption of enterprises, save energy and reduce emissions; As well as the requirements of afforestation and social responsibility.

The deep cooperation between Mercedes-Benz and Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. has added another big customer to Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. At present, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. has the widest customer base in the industry.

According to the research statistics of SNE, a Korean market research organization, the sales volume of power batteries of Contemporary Amp Technology Co., Ltd. ranked first in the world for three consecutive years at 20 17, 20 18 and 20 19. There are more than 4,600 models in the effective catalogue of new energy vehicles published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2065,438+2009, among which, Contemporary Amp Technology Co., Ltd. owns more than 1.900 models of power batteries, accounting for about 4 1.5%, and is the power battery manufacturer with the most supported models.

Why can't mainstream OEMs "escape" the cooperation with Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd.?

Many people in the industry said that it is not abrupt for Mercedes-Benz to deepen cooperation with Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. Due to the shortage of power batteries, Mercedes-Benz delayed the delivery plan of the first pure electric SUV model EQC 2065 438+09. In order to ensure a stable battery supply, in recent years, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. has deepened its cooperation with international brands such as BMW, Toyota and Volkswagen, and the supporting models will be listed in the next few years. Based on this, in 20 19, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. achieved a sales volume of 40.25GWh (power unit: 100 MWh), an increase of 90.04% over the previous year, and its market share was further improved.

Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. is by no means the only choice for Mercedes-Benz. It is understood that Daimler has cooperated with many domestic and foreign power battery companies such as BYD, Yiwei Lithium Energy, South Korea LGC and SKI. Daimler has also established a battery production network in nine factories in seven locations on three continents.

In July this year, in addition to strategic investment, Funeng Technology and Daimler Greater China also signed a comprehensive commercial cooperation agreement to provide batteries for the new lineup of electric vehicles launched by Mercedes-Benz in the next decade.

But in the next few years, it is still difficult to judge who can really become the largest battery supplier of Mercedes-Benz. At the same time, having a cooperative relationship with major customers does not mean that the battery factory has a worry-free future. "In the end, it depends on the matching ratio of different suppliers and the degree of bundling with Mercedes-Benz." A person in charge of a battery company said, "Many contracted customers are only intentional or symbolic, and the purchase volume may be small at that time."

For Funeng Technology, its technical route is mainly ternary flexible battery, and its technical route and product line are relatively simple. This has both advantages and risks for Funeng Technology.

The advantage is that the ternary flexible battery has the characteristics of high energy density and high safety. In 20 19, among the new energy passenger cars before global sales 10, the number of soft-pack batteries rose to 4, and the Volvo 60 series and 90 series plug-in hybrid passenger cars, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Dongfeng Nissan Sylphy EV and other models all used ternary soft-pack batteries. Volkswagen's MEB platform, Daimler and other auto companies also explicitly use the flexible packaging path.

"Funeng Technology is a leading enterprise in China's flexible battery, and its technical quality is guaranteed. Mercedes-Benz used to use LGC ternary flexible battery. The same technical route will be more convenient to use. " An industry source close to Funeng Technology said.

With the endorsement of Daimler's cooperative relationship, the market recognition of Funeng Technology has been further enhanced. At present, the main customers of Funeng Technology to achieve sales revenue are BAIC Group, Jiangling, Great Wall, FAW Group and Daimler, and at the same time, it is also expanding domestic and foreign customers such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, GM, Renault, Nissan, Honda, Dongfeng and Chery.

However, a single technical route also implies a crisis. Due to the shortcomings of high cost, low grouping efficiency and poor product consistency, the installed capacity of ternary flexible batteries in China was about 5.5GWh in 20 19, down by 28. 1% year-on-year, and the market share was only 8.8%.

In the opinion of the above-mentioned battery industry experts, there may be logical problems in the middle. "There is no reason for the battery factory to only make a technical route, but to study what technical direction customers and markets need. It will be passive to only do areas that are good at letting others buy. "

The content of Funeng Technology's prospectus also shows: "If the technical route of new energy vehicle power battery changes significantly in the future, it will have a certain adverse impact on the downstream market demand of ternary soft package power battery; At the same time, if the company fails to develop and launch new products compatible with mainstream technology routes in a timely and effective manner, it will adversely affect the company's competitive advantage and profitability.

In addition to technical advantages, capacity advantage has also become one of the core competitive advantages of battery factories. For contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. and Funeng Technology, they are both facing certain capacity pressure at present. In order to meet the rapidly growing market demand, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. started the expansion project of Huxi lithium-ion battery, expanded the investment scale of R&D base in Europe, and started the construction of power battery manufacturing base in Yibin, Sichuan. At the same time, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. established joint venture battery companies with Geely Automobile and FAW Group respectively.

In addition, Funeng Technology's "Ganzhou Capacity Reconstruction and Expansion Project" and the annual output of 16 GWh lithium-ion power battery project (Funeng Zhenjiang Phase I and Phase II projects) have been completed and put into operation, and Zhenjiang Phase III IPO fundraising project and overseas base project have started preliminary planning.

"Now GanKun haven't decided. No matter from the technical route or capacity pressure, it is impossible for a large OEM to bet on a technology or a battery manufacturer, and new partners will join in the future. Balanced layout is the magic weapon for the future. " The above battery industry experts said.

Behind this story is the electrification of Mercedes-Benz.

At the 20 19 Frankfurt Motor Show, Kang Songlin, CEO of Daimler Group, put forward "Vision 2039", which includes: achieving carbon neutrality in European automobile production in 2022; In 2030, electric vehicles (including pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles) will account for more than half of the sales of new passenger cars; In 2039, we will achieve carbon neutrality in the new passenger car product lineup.

In order to achieve the above objectives, Daimler Group will invest heavily in carbon-neutral products. According to the plan, in 2020, Daimler will continue its offensive in the fields of products and electricity. At present, Mercedes-Benz pure electric trucks, pure electric light commercial vehicles and pure electric buses have all been mass-produced.

In China market, Mercedes-Benz has launched the first pure electric SUV EQC, 202 1 year, and Mercedes-Benz will launch pure electric SUVs EQA and EQB and large pure electric car EQS.

In addition to Mercedes-Benz, in recent years, mainstream car companies such as BMW and Volkswagen have increased their layout and investment in the field of new energy in the context of electrification. Even Toyota, which has always been relatively conservative, has accelerated the mass production of new energy vehicles in recent years. According to the data of Marklines, the global automotive industry platform, in 20 19, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles of the global mainstream traditional automobile enterprises was close to 2% on average, which was 1 percentage point higher than that in 20 17. In 2025, the average penetration rate of new energy vehicles will reach 10%- 15%.

However, there is no perfect matching battery supply chain in Europe and America. Global battery factories are concentrated in China, Japan and South Korea, and supporting materials are more concentrated in China.

According to SNE research statistics, 20 10 1.4GWh, the shipments of the top ten power battery enterprises in the world are 10 1.4GWh, accounting for 86.9% of the global power battery shipments, and the market concentration is further improved, among which the top three are Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd., Panasonic and LG Chem.

"New energy is a major strategic direction for the development of China. The most direct way to get a share in the booming new energy market in China is to cooperate with the battery factory in China. " The above new energy industry analysts said. According to the electrification plan, Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen are further strengthening their R&D, production and procurement in China.

Feng Zeng, CEO of Audi AG (China), once said: "In terms of pure electric vehicles, the total demand for power batteries in the Asian market will reach 65,438+0.50 GWh in 2025. In order to meet this demand, we need at least 2-4 battery suppliers in China. "

In May this year, Volkswagen invested 1 1 billion euros to acquire 26.47% shares of Guo Xuan Hi-Tech, becoming its largest shareholder, and then Wanxiang 123 won the power battery order of Volkswagen 100 billion yuan. In July this year, Yiwei Lithium received a letter from BMW Brilliance's power battery supplier. At the same time, they are all big customers of Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd..

At present, compared with Tesla, the sales of new energy vehicles of traditional OEM giants such as Volkswagen, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz are still in their infancy, but they are all betting on the future. On the one hand, it is to cope with the carbon emission standards of various countries and China's "double integral" policy; On the other hand, under the current sales base, new energy vehicles will become the key link to increase sales and widen the gap.

Therefore, in the layout of electrification, the actions of major OEMs are large and wide, which is unprecedented. However, in the long planning and landing process of electric vehicles, the dilemma of large investment and difficult profit can not be underestimated. In this stalemate, the rational distribution of resources has become the key to cost and chain operation.

This will test the balance wisdom of the OEM. "Mercedes-Benz purchases power battery units and battery packs from different partners in the global market. In order to remain competitive, Mercedes-Benz will continue to build a balanced supplier portfolio. " Mercedes said.

However, there is still a delicate trade-off and game process between the OEM and the battery factory. Northeast Securities pointed out that OEMs are used to mastering the absolute right to speak their own supply system, but with the arrival of electrification, the rules of the game seem to have changed. Batteries account for 20%-40% of the cost of electric vehicles, but there is no guarantee of self-supply of batteries in the main engine factory at present, which means that batteries are very important but have weak control.

"The relationship between OEM and battery factory is not a simple relationship between Party A and Party B .. they have their own rules of the game. The cooperation of one more battery factory is not only the occupation of resources, but also the bargaining chip sometimes. " The person in charge of the above battery company said.