Ni Jun, CATL’s Chief Manufacturing Officer, at Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, has called on Chinese authorities to step in on the intensifying EV price war, warning that unregulated discounting could destroy the sector.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin on Wednesday, Ni Jun cautioned that unchecked price cuts were threatening the survival of smaller players. “One big player cannot always lower prices [to gain market share] while driving out all other small rivals,” he said. “If it continues to do so without proper [regulatory] oversight, all of its rivals will not survive.”
Though Ni did not name the company responsible, market observers point to BYD, the world’s largest EV manufacturer, which began a new round of aggressive price cuts in May. BYD offered discounts ranging from 10% to over 30% across 22 electric and plug-in hybrid models, triggering a ripple effect that led competitors to cut prices on at least 70 models, according to 21st Century Business Herald.
The warning comes during growing concerns about sustainability in China’s EV sector, even as it remains a global leader in innovation and volume. CATL itself secured a dominant 38.6% share of the global EV battery market in the first four months of 2025 and raised $5.22 billion in its Hong Kong IPO last month, the largest initial public offering worldwide this year.
Ni’s remarks echo concerns raised earlier by Geely Auto Chairman Li Shufu, who criticized reckless pricing strategies for undermining consumer trust and product safety. Li said Geely would instead focus on technological development rather than expanding capacity.
According to JPMorgan Chase, Chinese carmakers offered average discounts of 16.8% in April, a steep rise from 8.3% the previous year. Despite the high output, only 50% of the nation’s EV production capacity was utilized in 2024, with an estimated 20 million units lying idle, Goldman Sachs reported.
So far, only three Chinese EV makers, BYD, Li Auto, and Aito (backed by Huawei Technologies), have managed to maintain profitability in the current environment.
Industry observers say CATL’s warning is timely. “As a key supplier to many of the carmakers, CATL has reasons to call for a ceasefire as the price war is likely to cripple more EV assemblers in the future,” said Shanghai-based independent analyst Gao Shen.
Signs of strain are already evident. A court in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, is reviewing a bankruptcy case involving Hozon New Energy Automobile, following a lawsuit from Shanghai Yuxing Advertising over unpaid dues, according to a notice on China’s National Enterprise Bankruptcy Information Disclosure Platform.
As anxiety over the issue builds, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on May 31 that carmakers using excessive discounts to grab market share would face penalties, though it has not yet disclosed the specific measures planned.
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