Power battery supply expansion broadens; manufacturers usher in a growth window.

Recently, Li Auto increased its capital investment in Sunwoda Power, while the Xiaomi Pengcheng series adopted cells supplied by CALB and Sunwoda. Multiple automakers have successively adjusted their battery supply systems, pushing China's power battery supply landscape into a period of intensive restructuring. The motivation behind automakers' supply chain adjustments stems from the long-term imbalance in profit distribution across the industrial chain. Industry insiders reveal that power batteries account for approximately 30%40% of vehicle costs, making them the single most expensive component in new energy vehicles. According to public statistics, eight mainstream power battery companies collectively earned approximately 50.8 billion yuan in profit in the first half of the year, while 23 major listed automakers recorded combined profits of about 25.1 billion yuan over the same period. However, excluding the leading players, the average profit level of the remaining battery companies is not high. Peng Jianhe, a relevant executive at Ruipu Saike, believes that whether this round of multi-supplier expansion can be sustained depends on three key variables. First, whether second-tier manufacturers can achieve a positive cycle in product competitivenessif they cannot build competitiveness across the full lifecycle of power batteries, they may face "growth in volume without growth in profit." Second, the pace at which automakers advance their in-house battery development, as this incremental volume could ultimately be absorbed by automakers' own efforts. Third, the industrialization pace of new technologies such as solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries, as transitions between technology routes often coincide with periods of industry landscape reshaping. He stated that second-tier manufacturers are currently in a "qualifying round," not yet the "finals."