The Electric: How the China Playbook Has Changed the Rules in EVs and Batteries

In January, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., the world’s largest battery manufacturer, slashed the price of its iron-based battery cells 40% below the global industry average. Western battery industry veterans told me at the time that the price had to be a one-off promotion for CATL’s best customers. It was not possible to make money at such prices, they said.

Today, CATL is still advertising the cells at about $56 per kilowatt hour—and it’s become the going rate in China for large lithium-iron-phosphate batteries used in buildings, according to multiple firms that track battery prices, compared with $95/kWh outside China; an electric vehicle battery using LFP would be roughly $10/kWh more. And China’s most efficient battery manufacturers are making a profit on the price, with average costs of $45/kWh, according to InfoLink Group, a Taiwan-based renewable energy research firm.