The lithium battery industry is gradually recovering, and battery manufacturer EVE Energy revealed yesterday that... Production will fully resume starting in May, and scheduling will see significant improvement.

In the just-concluded first quarter, although the new-energy passenger vehicle market—the primary downstream sector of the lithium-battery industry—continued to maintain... With growth rates hovering around 25%, the lithium-ion battery industry chain as a whole has shown a subdued performance, largely due to the relatively high inventory levels in the sector. A key phenomenon is the sharp decline in prices of lithium-ion battery raw materials—particularly lithium carbonate—and both trading and investment activities have become remarkably sluggish. The relentless fall in raw material prices has, in turn, triggered a wait-and-see attitude among another important downstream segment of lithium batteries: the energy storage market.

As the earlier inventory is gradually being depleted, the second quarter—already underway—is being highly anticipated by the industry, and EVE Energy is one of those companies.

EVE Energy stated that it expects to, in the second quarter, from... Starting in May, the company’s production scheduling will see a significant improvement compared to previous periods. This is because material prices have now stabilized, and production line adjustments are largely complete and have reached a stable state. Moreover, the yield rate is also at a relatively high level. Therefore, starting in May, production will fully resume, and judging from the production schedule, there will be a noticeable increase compared to the first quarter.

Recently, Jiang Li, the company’s secretary of the board at CATL, revealed in a conference call that, judging from the situation in April, the company feels the market is gradually improving. The atmosphere in the physical automotive industry—including auto shows—is very strong, and many automakers have unveiled numerous new models. As the new-energy vehicle market gradually recovers and demand picks up, production schedules will accordingly increase.

In response to investors' questions, Jiang Li stated that CATL's production and sales of lithium batteries for the first quarter of this year were roughly at the same level. At a level of over 70 GWh, energy storage accounts for roughly 20%. “Since the company had an inventory of 70 GWh at the end of last year, some of that inventory—goods that were originally in stock but still en route—was consumed during the first quarter of this year. As a result, the company’s production volume in the first quarter of this year was somewhat restrained and will be slightly lower than current sales volumes.”

Meanwhile, according to information obtained from internal surveys conducted by Tianfeng Dianxin among relevant companies, In May, production schedules for upstream and downstream battery companies showed a noticeable increase.

1. Battery Plant A: In May, the company’s wholly-owned production capacity reached 28 GWh, up 10% month-on-month.

2. Battery Plant B: Production scheduled for May is 12G, up 14% month-on-month.

3. Battery Manufacturer C: According to feedback from the supply chain, production scheduled for May increased by 40-50% month-on-month.

4. Battery Manufacturer D: During the earnings call, it was announced that production scheduling in May will see significant changes, with full resumption of operations.

5. Structural Components Plant E: Production scheduled for May increased by 20% month-on-month. Feedback from the battery plant indicates that overall demand for May has picked up, with even the worst-performing segment showing a month-on-month increase of over 10%.

6. Diaphragm plant F: May production schedule is close to 500 million square meters, up 20% month-on-month, with all equipment running at full capacity.

7. Electrolyte Plant G: May is expected to produce over 30,000 tons, a 10% increase month-on-month.