Samsung will expand production of battery factory in Hungary or invest 5.5 billion
Foreign media reported that Samsung SDI announced that it will invest 942 billion won (approximately RMB 5.5 billion) in its power battery factory in Hungary to expand battery production capacity and increase battery supply to European customers such as BMW and Volkswagen. .
Samsung SDI plans to invest 1.2 trillion won (approximately 6.98 billion yuan) to increase the monthly production capacity of the Hungarian factory to 18 million cells by 2030. The factory is currently in the second phase of expansion.
After the expansion is completed, the capacity of the Hungary battery plant will reach 20GWh, which is close to the total battery output of Samsung SDI last year. In addition, Samsung SDI also plans to establish a second power battery factory in Hungary, but has not yet clarified a timetable.
It is reported that Samsung SDI will produce its high-nickel NCA prismatic battery, also known as the next generation battery, at the Hungarian plant. It plans to realize mass production and supply in the second half of the year.
Samsung SDI said that an electric car using Gen5 batteries can travel up to 600 kilometers at a time, which means that the energy density of Gen5 batteries is at least 600Wh/L.
Samsung SDI has substantially expanded the production capacity of its European battery factories. The main purpose is to meet the increasing demand for power batteries from its European OEM customers, to ensure stable battery supply for major customers, and to further increase its share in the global power battery market. Competitiveness.
At the same time, the continued growth of battery orders and the improvement of battery profitability have also provided Samsung SDI with the confidence to increase its power battery business.
Samsung SDI said that the company’s 2020 sales reached 11.29 trillion won (approximately RMB 65.7 billion), an increase of 11.9% year-on-year; operating profit increased by 45.2% year-on-year to 671.3 billion won (approximately RMB 3.9 billion) Yuan); net profit increased by 56.8% year-on-year to 631 billion won (about 3.67 billion yuan).
Among them, sales in the fourth quarter were 3.25 trillion won (approximately RMB 18.9 billion), a year-on-year increase of 15.3%, and operating profit was 246.2 billion won (approximately RMB 1.43 billion), a year-on-year increase of 1124.9 %.
In 2020, the substantial increase in the sales of electric vehicles in Europe will drive a substantial increase in the power battery shipments of three Korean companies, LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SKI. Samsung SDI supplied BMW, Ford and other OEMs to achieve a significant increase in the installed capacity of power batteries, and its installed capacity rose to the fifth place in the world.
With the further increase in demand in the European and American power battery markets and the mass production and supply of Gen 5 batteries at the Hungarian plant, Samsung SDI predicts that the company's power battery business is expected to further improve in 2021 and increase battery profitability.
Under this situation, it is more urgent for Samsung SDI to expand the battery production capacity of the Hungary plant.
It is worth noting that although Samsung SDI’s power battery business has improved profitability and is full of confidence in the power market this year, there are also many challenges behind it.
On the one hand, the two major international OEMs, BMW and Ford, have announced the recall of 26,700 and 20,500 PHEV plug-in hybrid models in 2020. The reason for the recall is that there are hidden safety hazards in the power battery. The battery supplier For Samsung SDI.
The above recall accident will undoubtedly have a negative impact on Samsung SDI's brand image, market development, operating profit, etc., or will have an impact on its power battery business in 2021, thereby dragging down performance and profit growth.
On the other hand, competitors including LG Chem, SKI, CATL and other companies are currently accelerating the capacity expansion and business development of European factories, which will also cause considerable pressure and challenges to Samsung SDI.
