Experts say that car manufacturers may internally absorb the pressure of lithium carbonate price increases.

Journalists found that the price of lithium carbonate futures has increased by more than 33,000 yuan per ton since the beginning of 2026, with a growth rate exceeding 25%. Faced with the strong trend of lithium carbonate prices, some in the industry believe that lithium prices may return to the high level of 200,000 yuan per ton. Regarding the supply of lithium carbonate, an analyst from Ningbo Futures told reporters, "In 2025, the global demand structure for lithium carbonate is significantly differentiated, with power batteries still being the absolute dominant, but the proportion of energy storage and emerging areas such as 3C continues to increase." Looking at 2026, although the growth rate of new energy vehicles is slowing down, the demand for lithium carbonate in power batteries still remains relatively high. Lithium carbonate is a key raw material for lithium ion battery cathode materials, and lithium ion batteries are important raw materials for core components of new energy vehicles. As the price of lithium carbonate continues to rise, the most concerning issue for consumers is whether the price of new energy vehicles will also increase. "In terms of the overall cost structure of vehicles, the price increase of lithium carbonate this time has a relatively limited direct impact on the bill of materials (BOM) of car companies, not exceeding 2% of the total vehicle cost. Under the current competitive and price pressure environment, automakers as a whole do not have the space to directly pass on these costs to end car prices, and instead choose to absorb them internally," said Liu Yuncheng, senior analyst at Omdia, to reporters.