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author: jackfruit

editor: yang jing

editor: he zengrong

three years ago, indian battery company saturnose announced its entry into the aluminum battery market in an attempt to overtake competitors. after charging for 12 minutes, the battery can reach a range of 1,200 kilometers. most importantly, the battery life can last up to 15 years.

however, this new technology, which is said to be "years ahead of china", has not brought about a qualitative breakthrough in india's power battery industry.

in contrast, facing fierce market competition, india's largest automaker tata motors has turned to batteries supplied by chinese companies. two other major indian automakers, mahindra & mahindra and maruti, are also reported to be equipped with byd blade batteries.

people familiar with the matter revealed that previously, tata's passenger car battery packs were mainly purchased from the group's component companies (the battery cells came from guoxuan high-tech). in order to cope with cost pressure and battery power issues, the company has now begun to diversify its procurement and purchase power batteries from chinese manufacturers.

in 2023, tata motors accounted for nearly 70% of the indian electric vehicle market. although it still has an absolute advantage in the indian market, it has fallen by 17 percentage points from the previous year. with the decline in market share and the intensified competition among players in the indian electric vehicle market, tata motors must face the challenge and maintain its sales base with more attractive prices.

first, there is pressure from opponents.

it is worth mentioning that maruti suzuki, another influential indian domestic automobile manufacturer, is also building a factory at full speed and plans to start production this year and launch its first pure electric model in 2025.

this plan may affect tata's leading position in the electric vehicle market. according to s&p global mobility data, maruti suzuki will drive 20% of india's battery demand in 2035, second only to tata motors' 22%. the two companies will basically be tied in ten years.

another pressure comes from chinese companies. in 2023, byd will only sell the mpv model e6 mpv and the suv model atto 3 in the indian market, but sales are growing rapidly. with the launch of the pure electric model "seal", the company will further erode tata's pure electric market.

second, the price sensitivity of the indian market.

even without considering external competitors and other factors, battery procurement is an important part of tata motors' cost reduction and efficiency improvement. after all, the indian auto market has always been a price-sensitive market. in the past few years, the overall consumption capacity here has been low and the bonus radius is limited.

at present, the cost of buying electric vehicles for indian consumers is still high. in most cases, traditional fuel vehicles are cheaper than electric vehicles. considering the price, people are more willing to choose smaller fuel vehicles that are cheaper and more fuel-efficient.

according to data from the indian automobile dealers association, the country's electric vehicle sales in fiscal year 2023 (april 1, 2023 to march 31, 2024) are expected to be about 90,000, a year-on-year increase of nearly 100%. according to statistics from consulting firm counterpoint research, sales growth in fiscal year 2024 is expected to reach 66%, accounting for 4% of total passenger car sales.

third, there is a bottleneck in core technology.

faced with the huge increase in electric vehicles, india is relatively passive in the battery industry. one important reason is that the local reserves of raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel are limited, and in the past few years, india has long relied on imports of raw materials. diversified procurement is the most realistic option.

s&p global mobility predicts that by 2030, 13% of india's total demand for power batteries will come from domestic production, and the remaining 87% will still be purchased from other countries. however, local battery manufacturers in india are already prepared for capacity expansion and have invested heavily in local battery manufacturing facilities.

ford has a history of battery costs. ford ceo jim farley once made it clear in a statement that affordable cars start with affordable batteries, but the company has suffered losses in reducing battery costs.

according to the plan, ford will jointly build a factory in the united states with catl, but due to geopolitical factors and other factors, the battery factory was finally operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ford. catl was only responsible for providing battery patent technology licenses and sending relevant personnel to provide technical support.

according to media reports, general motors also plans to follow ford's example this year and join catl in its cooperation by obtaining technical licenses for lithium iron phosphate (lfp) batteries, or to build a new battery joint venture factory in north america.