Japanese think tank: Chinese companies lead the world in EV patent quality

Source: Global Times

[Global Times Comprehensive Report] According to a report on Nikkei Asia on the 17th, China leads the world in electric vehicle patent quality. The report cited a research report released earlier by Japanese think tank Mitsui & Co. Strategic Research Institute, which stated that although the number of electric vehicle-related patents applied for by Chinese enterprises is not high, their quality is leading.

Mitsui & Co. Strategic Research Institute sorted out the electric vehicle-related patent situations of 20 companies from countries such as China, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Germany, and Sweden. As of November 2024, these 20 companies have applied for a total of 6,135 electric vehicle patents, among which Hyundai Motor of South Korea has the highest number of patents with 2,250. Chinese enterprises BYD, Huawei, and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) have 828, 285, and 263 patents respectively. The institute also scored the technological level of the electric vehicle-related patents of these enterprises. The average score for the patent quality of these 20 companies is 1.0. Among the top 5 companies with the highest patent quality scores, there are 4 Chinese companies. CATL scored 2.7 points and ranked first. Other Chinese companies in the top five include Huawei and Aulton New Energy, both scoring 2.3 points, and BYD scoring 2.0 points.

Nikkei Asia believes that against the backdrop of the US tariff war, it may be quite difficult for Chinese electric vehicles to directly enter the US market, but凭借 strong patent technology strength, relevant Chinese enterprises can achieve profitability through patent licensing. The survey by Mitsui & Co. Strategic Research Institute found that CATL has reached an agreement with Ford to cooperate in building an electric vehicle battery factory in the United States. Another major US auto giant General Motors is said to be in talks with Japanese company TDK to purchase batteries produced by TDK's US factory, and the production technology of these batteries is expected to come from CATL.

A previous report by The New York Times covered the situation of the cooperation project between Ford and CATL. The report stated that Ford is constructing a battery park in Michigan, USA, covering an area of 1.8 million square feet, which is expected to start producing lithium iron phosphate batteries in 2026. The total investment in this project is about $2 billion, which is expected to create 1,700 jobs in the United States, and the lithium iron phosphate battery technology comes from CATL.

Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, said that China leads the United States by 10 years in battery manufacturing technology, "Our way to compete is to acquire China's intellectual property, just as China needed our intellectual property 20 years ago." (Zhen Xiang)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494416999045513778/

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