Installing batteries in excavators, CATL calculates an economic account | Focus Analysis

The battle of electrification is omnipresent. Every vehicle with an internal combustion engine is difficult to evade the revolution. This is already the situation for passenger vehicles, and now it is approaching for commercial vehicles.

On November 25, CATL held the product launch of the Tianxing Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle Series, and launched four new products, which respectively possess 4C ultra-fast charging, a 1000-degree electricity capacity with an 800-kilometer range, a 15-year lifespan of 3 million kilometers, and a durability strength that is four times that of the industry.

This is the further expansion of this series of products after CATL released the new brand "Tianxing" for new energy commercial vehicle batteries in July.

The four new products are mainly for heavy-duty commercial vehicles, such as electric heavy trucks, mining trucks, muck trucks, and excavators.

Gao Huan, CTO of CATL's Domestic Commercial Vehicle Division, stated at the launch that the new products all support 1000V high voltage, with a 43% increase in charging efficiency and a 50% reduction in loss.

Even more rarely, the electrification transformation of heavy-duty commercial vehicles can save more funds for vehicle operation.

Gao Huan calculated an economic account. Previously, the Yulong Copper Mine's wide-body mining truck utilized CATL batteries and did not need to be charged for a week, reducing operating costs by 30%.

As early as 2017, CATL began to promote the electrification transformation of heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The footprints of CATL's heavy truck and construction machinery business team are throughout the major mining areas and ports in China. Now, it is finally the moment to witness the results.

「 Four New Products, Making Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicles More Cost-Effective 」

At this launch, CATL brought four batteries for the Tianxing Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle: the ultra-fast charging version, the long-life version, the long-range version, and the high-strength version.

The ultra-fast charging version is mainly utilized in mining area transportation, as well as in scenarios such as muck and mixing. With a peak 4C charging rate, it can achieve a 70% energy replenishment in 15 minutes, shortening the charging time, extending the vehicle operation time, and making the vehicle more efficient.

The long-life version can achieve an ultra-long lifespan of 15 years and 3 million kilometers, so that even in high-energy consumption transportation scenarios such as heavy loads and medium and long distances, there is no need to worry about battery attenuation, and it can even make the retention rate of electric heavy trucks higher.

The long-range version is more distinctive. This battery can enable the vehicle to carry 1000 degrees of electricity, with a range of more than 800 kilometers. Such a battery capacity is almost comparable to that of 20 passenger vehicles.

Of course, the most significant is the high-strength version. Gao Huan introduced that the high-strength version has uniquely created the "Taishan Architecture", which increases the volume utilization rate of the battery pack by 40%, and also has an IP68 waterproof standard, with a durability of 500,000 kilometers, which is four times higher than the industry.

This product has also been mass-produced and landed on more than 20 models of 7 construction machinery manufacturers such as Tongli Heavy Industry, Liugong Machinery, and XCMG Machinery.

In order to cope with various extreme road conditions of heavy-duty commercial vehicles, in product design, CATL has strengthened the battery pack box structure of the Tianxing series. For instance, using double-layer transverse reinforcing ribs for support, internal energy absorption design, and differentiated honeycomb cross-sectional structure, etc.

The water cooling system has always been one of the product advantages of CATL. In the latest products, CATL uses a three-dimensional multi-faceted water cooling system. According to Gao Huan, this system can control the charging temperature difference of the battery pack within 5 degrees Celsius.

Having discussed so much about battery performance, the ultimate role of these performances is still to save costs. The essence of commercial vehicles is a productivity tool. Whether it is an excavator or a heavy truck, making money is the highest mission of the vehicle.

The four new products released by CATL have the most practical effect of assisting heavy-duty commercial vehicles to save more costs.

In the Chinese market, using electricity is cheaper than using oil. The annual fuel cost of a heavy truck is about 500,000 yuan, but only 200,000 yuan is sufficient for electricity. This is also one of the driving forces for the electrification transformation of heavy-duty commercial vehicles.

Gao Huan also calculated a long-term account at the launch. Taking a heavy truck that travels 200,000 kilometers per year as an example, the long-life version of CATL's Tianxing Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle can save 1 million yuan compared to a fuel vehicle in 8 years.

The high-strength version battery is more evident. In the industry, the service life of a mining truck is generally 100,000 kilometers, but using the Tianxing high-strength version battery can increase its life to 500,000 kilometers. A longer operating time obviously implies more profits.

The emergence of these four new products is CATL's preparation before the acceleration of the electrification penetration rate in the heavy-duty commercial vehicle track. After all, this is a new hundred-billion-level market.

「 Expanding Another Hundred-Billion Market, Winning with Manufacturing 」

It is widely known in the industry that CATL started with a BMW order, and Yutong Bus is one of its early major customers, which means that CATL has sufficient experience in the development of commercial vehicle batteries.

Specifically in the field of construction machinery, in the domestic market, CATL's market share is 50.73%, and in the global market, the market share is 30%, both ranking first in the industry.

Now, the electrification penetration rate of heavy-duty commercial vehicles is accelerating. Taking heavy trucks as an example, the electrification rate of domestic heavy trucks was only 0.1% in 2017, and by the first nine months of 2024, it has increased to 11.2%.

The rapidly increasing new energy penetration rate has led CATL to increase its investment. Even though it has already achieved the industry's first market share, this leading company is still highly vigilant and continues to launch new products. This is also closely related to its product strategy.

Compared with its product strategy in the passenger vehicle market.

CATL's Kirin Battery and Shenxing Battery are becoming the main sales products in the passenger vehicle market.

At the earnings communication meeting in the third quarter of this year, CATL said that the two products have been mass-produced and installed in more than 30 mainstream models in China. It is expected to account for three to four percent of the company's power battery shipments this year, and is expected to increase to seven to eight percent next year.

The concentrated shipment of Kirin and Shenxing not only means stabilizing CATL's market share, but also largely unifies the battery specifications it produces, almost becoming a standard product, and can be produced on the same production line.

This model can greatly increase the production scale, ensure the capacity utilization rate, and reduce the manufacturing cost.

Using star products to spread widely, and then through the scale effect, reduce manufacturing costs and procurement costs. This model is CATL's future development path and also its product means to maximize the scale advantage.

In the commercial vehicle market, CATL obviously intends to do the same.

Since July this year, CATL has successively launched the Tianxing L-Ultra Fast Charging Version, the Long-Range Version in the logistics field and the public transportation field, and the Tianxing B-Bus Version.

Now, with the ultra-fast charging version, the long-life version, the long-range version, and the high-strength version of the Tianxing Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle, CATL's Tianxing series products have achieved full coverage in the commercial vehicle field.

In the future, CATL will gradually switch the shipments in the commercial vehicle market to Tianxing batteries, and its scale advantage in the commercial vehicle track will be more prominent.

Of course, not only CATL is laying out in the heavy-duty commercial vehicle market. Companies such as BYD, Eve Energy, and CALB are also actively expanding.

This product launch by CATL can also be regarded as the first shot in the acceleration of the electrification of heavy-duty commercial vehicles. In the future, the competition in this track will be more intense.