Picture: Tesla 4680 battery produced by Panasonic

According to news on March 11, many batteries used in Tesla's electric vehicles come from third-party suppliers such as Panasonic, LG and CATL. According to a latest report by the market research company Kane Energy Research & Consulting, Tesla purchases a large amount of electric car batteries, and the price per kilowatt-hour battery is significantly lower than that of its competitors.

According to the results of the study, Tesla purchased batteries from three suppliers: Panasonic, LG and CATL, and the average price per kilowatt-hour battery was US$142. At the same time, the average price per kilowatt-hour of batteries for companies such as General Motors is US$169, while the industry average price is around US$186, which means that Tesla’s purchase price is 23% lower than the industry average. In addition, the average price per kilowatt-hour for Tesla's electric car battery pack is US$187, GM is US$207, and the industry average price is US$246.

Since battery packs account for most of the cost of electric vehicles, batteries are the most important factor in controlling car prices. The more a company buys, the lower the cost, just like a supermarket like Sam's Club or Costco: the more you buy, the lower the price of a single item. Kane said that in this case, electric car companies can compare battery costs based on the price per kilowatt hour, and Tesla has an absolute lead in this field and will last for about ten years.

"Tesla is undoubtedly accelerating. They think this is a critical period and they are enhancing their capabilities," said Sam Jaffe, the managing director of Kane. The report also mentioned that Tesla will increase production through its super factories in Berlin, Germany, Shanghai, China, and Austin, USA, so as to continue to reduce costs and produce the cheapest and best-performing electric cars on the market.

So how is Tesla’s battery price per kWh so much lower than its competitors? Kane Energy said that this is because the company’s CEO Elon Musk and his R&D and engineering teams are doing their best. What it can do to cut car costs is a key strategy in Tesla's master plan.

Jaffe said, "Everything is focused on cost. The lower the cost, the cheaper the car."

Tesla's work is far from reaching its goal. At the Tesla Battery Day event held in September last year, Musk outlined Tesla's plan to reduce battery costs by 54%. This will be achieved through mass production plans, cheaper battery materials and new manufacturing strategies. In addition, Tesla plans to produce some of its batteries in-house.

Kane believes that Tesla will continue to be the leader in the field of electric vehicle batteries in the next ten years. Some analysts predict that Volkswagen is expected to become the company that challenges Tesla, but Kane believes that General Motors is the real second in the industry.

Jaffe said: "General Motors is fully committed and has adopted a fully integrated approach, which will bring it very close to Tesla, although the scale is still not as good as Tesla." (Chenchen)

Source: NetEase Technology Report, translated by Google Translate