Lithium Race: China's Biggest Air-Con Maker Bets $2 Billion On Electric Cars.

Zhuhai Yinlong New Energy Co.

  

  These days we have everybody and their grandmother moving into electric cars. The difference between Mercedes dreaming about Electric Maybach and Chinese New Energy contenders is that they are not just talking for years about the prototypes. Chinese companies are putting now very serious money where their mouth is. Mercedes is still busy fighting the diesel ban in India and the ugly truth is that even after one year since DieselGate all those cancer hazards polluting diesel cars are still on our streets. China leapfrogs the ICE age technology straight into EVs now. China is minting headlines about electric cars faster than I can type to share it with you. 
  All words are cheap if they are not backed by the money on the line. Now we can put Ganfeng Lithium's and International Lithium's commitments to fast-track the advance of Mariana to Lithium production in Argentina into the perspective of the growth of the New Energy in China. We have another company, you have never heard about, joining the lithium race with $1 billion of dollars in investments in China, where 25 companies are already producing 51 models of electric cars.

Ganfeng And International Lithium In EV Race: 25 Companies Are Making 51 Models Of Electric Cars In China Already.

Warren Buffett's BYD Chasing Panasonic In Lithium Race: EV Lithium-Ion Battery Suppliers Outlook For H1 2016.

InsideEVs.

  "Now we know who is feeding exactly this enormous growth of electric cars in China. InsideEVs provides very interesting data on the state of our lithium race for EVs lithium batteries market. Panasonic is still holding the number 1 place with 36% of the market, "but in terms of growth BYD is second to none moving up by more than 300%!" Now Warren Buffett's BYD claims 18% of this market. The first half of 2016 has seen an increase by 81% to nearly 8.5 GWh of lithium batteries capacity. As you can see, there is no Tesla yet on this chart at all! All lithium cells for Tesla are supplied by Panasonic. And there is no lithium under Gigafactory floor in Nevada. 
  Should we discuss the lithium demand picture again with 150 GWh of lithium batteries just coming from Tesla Gigafactory 1 by 2022 after initial 50 GWh in 2018? And what about another dozen of lithium batteries Megafactories all around the globe? 

  International Lithium strategic partner Ganfeng Lithium supplies Panasonic and BYD. Now this $4.5 billion giant from China finances International Lithium projects in Argentina and Ireland. Read more."

InsideEVs.

Lithium Market Small But Complex. Canadian Junior And Chinese Partner Taking Long View.

"Right now, Ganfeng is advancing ILC’s Mariana project in Salta province, Argentina. In July 2016, ILC and Ganfeng co-announced that a $12 million budget has been approved to accelerate exploration and development at Mariana.

ILC president Kirill Klip noted that Ganfeng has a $4.5 billion US market cap holding 19 patents for lithium products. Klip said the $12.5 million will enable ILC to firm up the size of the Mariana resource and move forward its application for a pilot production plant on the property.                                                     

“This access to capital and Ganfeng’s advanced lithium extraction technology puts  International Lithium in an exceptional position to move our project forward,” Klip said.  He cited recent discussions about ILC’s project with senior officials in the Argentinian government as evidence that the country is enthused about foreign investment in natural resource development. Read more."

IndustryWeek:

China's Biggest Air-Con Maker Bets $2 Billion on Electric Cars

"Gree Electric Appliances Inc., China’s largest air-conditioner maker, is going ahead with a plan to diversify its business outside of home appliances by paying 13 billion yuan ($2 billion) to buy an electric-vehicle manufacturer.

The appliance maker, which announced its intention to buy Zhuhai Yinlong New Energy Co. in March, will fund the purchase by selling 834.9 million new shares at 15.57 yuan apiece, about 19 percent lower than the stock’s last traded price, according to a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange. The company’s shares have been suspended from trading since February.

Gree is making the purchase in order to support the Chinese government’s push to clean up the environment and promote greener technologies, Chairman Dong Mingzhu said in an interview in Beijing in March.

Yinlong started manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles in 2009 and has a line of seven electric passenger cars and 18 electric buses, according to its website. Gree gets about 86 percent of its revenue from manufacturing air conditioners and parts. It sells two out of every five air-conditioners in China, according to data from Euromonitor International.

Gree is among the dozens of startups and industrial companies venturing into the field of producing electric vehicles. China has designated new-energy vehicles a strategic industry as part of a broader push to upgrade its manufacturing sector. Electric vehicles also would curtail tailpipe emissions that contribute to worsening air pollution in major cities.

By Chua Kong Ho"