Electric Vehicle Battery Production in April Down 42.1%... Declines for 9 Consecutive Months

Impact of Sharp BEV Decline... Increased Use of PHEV and HEV Batteries
April Decline Eases... Clear Recovery from COVID-19 in China

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] In April this year, the usage of batteries installed in electric vehicles (EV, PHEV, HEV) in China decreased by 42.1%. This marks the ninth consecutive month of decline since August last year. The market demand, which was contracted due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), has not yet fully recovered, and factors such as the spread of economic recession continue to have an effect.

According to SNE Research on the 3rd, the total battery energy of electric vehicles registered in China in April was 3.3 GWh, a sharp drop of 42.1% compared to the same month last year. The usage of electric vehicle batteries in China has been decreasing in double digits since August 2019. However, the rate of decline in April eased compared to February (74.0%) and March (51.0%).

By type of electric vehicle, battery usage for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid vehicles (HEV) increased in double digits, but the usage of battery for battery electric vehicles (BEV), which account for the overwhelming majority, plummeted by nearly half.

In April, sales of electric vehicles in China amounted to 93,000 units, down 29.1% from the same month last year, marking the tenth consecutive month of decline. While sales of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles continued to decrease, hybrid vehicles showed a clear recovery trend with double-digit growth.

However, SNE Research analyzed that since hybrid cars have significantly lower battery capacity per unit compared to battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the increase in hybrid vehicles alone has limitations in offsetting the local market downturn.

The cumulative battery usage for electric vehicles in China from January to April this year was 9.1 GWh, a sharp drop of 52.0% compared to the same period last year. Sales of electric vehicles, mainly battery electric vehicles with large battery capacity, decreased in double digits every month from January.

SNE Research stated, "As COVID-19 subsides in China, the monthly rate of decline is gradually decreasing, and the recovery trend is expected to become more evident after May," adding, "Domestic industries need to continuously monitor the local market situation closely and prepare timely market strategies."