AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)12/10 Report--

As we all know, Tesla is an American electric car company, which has car factories in Fremont, California, USA and Shanghai, China, respectively. The super factory built in Shanghai undertakes the task of Tesla exporting to Japan, Europe and other countries. And most of the products produced by the Fremont factory in California are mainly supplied to the American domestic market, so if you can see a domestic Tesla in the United States. What kind of experience will it be?

According to foreign media reports, near Tesla's Gigafactory factory in Shanghai, a suspected domestic Model 3 was found in San Francisco, California, and happened to be photographed by a Model Y owner in the rear, arousing the curiosity of local owners.

Judging from the pictures exposed by the media, the rear logo of the Tesla Model 3 is in Chinese, which means it is made in China. Of course, foreign media also stressed that because the Chinese logo at the back of the car can be purchased online, it is not quite certain that this is a Chinese-made Model 3. However, by looking at the rear license plate frame of the Model 3, it is basically concluded that it is indeed from China, and that the Model 3 rear license plate frame in the picture is flatter and longer, which obviously does not match the local license plate, and it is this key information that reveals its "origin".

Foreign media pointed out that the reason why domestic Model 3 appeared in the United States may be related to a plan announced by Tesla before. Tesla said at the investor exchange meeting in the third quarter of this year that Tesla is switching to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for all standard extended-flight electric cars worldwide.

Subsequently, several people familiar with the matter revealed to the media that Tesla had ordered 45GWh lithium iron phosphate batteries for next year's sales plan from Ningde Times, China's leading power battery company, mainly for Model 3 and Model Y models. It is understood that the world's two largest lithium iron phosphate battery manufacturers are Ningde Times and BYD.

According to Tesla's official information, both Model 3 and Model Y with lithium iron phosphate batteries are standard battery life versions, with the former battery capacity being 55kWh and the latter 60kWh. According to this preliminary calculation, 45GWh's battery order will correspond to nearly 800000 vehicles, exceeding Tesla's total sales in the first three quarters of this year and basically corresponding to Tesla's sales target in 2022.

At present, domestic Tesla Model 3 and Model Y standard continued version are equipped with lithium iron phosphate battery, of which Model 3 with lithium iron phosphate was first listed in October 2020, when the price was 249900 yuan, compared with the pre-adjusted price of 271550 yuan, the price was reduced by 21650 yuan. Model Y, equipped with lithium iron phosphate battery, officially went on sale in July this year. The subsidized price of the new car is 276000 yuan, which is 71900 yuan lower than the long-lasting version of the model with a price of 347900 yuan, directly bringing the price of Tesla SUV below 300000 yuan, which meets the requirements of the new energy subsidy policy. Since then, at the end of August this year, the Model model with lithium iron phosphate battery went on sale in the United States, and American users can choose the lithium iron phosphate battery model when buying the standard continued version of Model 3. It is understood that the US standard battery version of Model 3, which uses lithium iron phosphate battery, has reduced its range from 263 miles to 253 miles, but the price remains unchanged at $39990.

As for why Tesla praises lithium iron phosphate battery? First of all, in terms of technology, compared with ternary lithium battery, lithium iron phosphate battery is slightly inferior in energy density and charge-discharge performance, but it has better safety and stability, so it is favored by entry-level vehicles. The second is to reduce costs, in the case of the decline of new energy subsidies and the sharp rise of cobalt, lithium and nickel, the raw materials of ternary lithium batteries, car companies switch to lithium iron phosphate to reduce costs and increase efficiency, which is also the main reason for more opportunities for lithium iron phosphate batteries.

At present, the installed capacity of lithium iron phosphate battery is much higher than that of ternary lithium battery. According to data released by the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, lithium iron phosphate batteries accounted for 53.8%, 56.9% and 58.3% of the power battery market in July and September, respectively. The output of lithium iron phosphate batteries is 1.4 times that of ternary lithium batteries, and the installed capacity is 1.6 times. It is believed that the widening gap between the two shows the trend of accelerated replacement of ternary lithium batteries by lithium iron phosphate batteries.

Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the Federation, said, "the main reason why lithium iron phosphate is widely used at present is that the price of lithium iron phosphate is about 20% lower than that of ternary lithium." In addition, in the long run, people do not want the growth of ternary lithium batteries to drive the demand for nickel too high, and the early worry is that the supply of cobalt will be insufficient. The balanced development of lithium iron phosphate and ternary lithium will relatively reduce the pressure on resources. "

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat