Battery prices are falling again as raw material costs drop globally

Lower utilisation: A BYD Co showroom is seen in Shanghai. China’s battery production alone has exceeded global demand so far this year, an indicator of global oversupply. — Bloomberg

NEW YORK: As the auto industry grapples with how to make affordable electric vehicles (EVs), the task may get easier by one key metric. Battery prices are resuming a long-term trend of decline, following an unprecedented increase last year.

According to BloombergNEF’s (BNEF) annual lithium-ion battery price survey, average pack prices fell to US$139 per kilowatt hour (kWh) this year, a 14% drop from US$161 per kWh in 2022.