Benefiting from rising new energy vehicle sales, power battery suppliers have generally shown strong performance. In the first half of 2025, China's new energy vehicle production and sales reached 6.968 million and 6.937 million units respectively, representing year-on-year growth of 41.4% and 0.3%. New energy vehicle sales accounted for over 44% of total automotive sales for the first time. This growth has driven expansion in the power battery market, with domestic power battery shipments reaching 477GWh in the first half, up 49% year-on-year according to GGII data.

Among seven suppliers with power battery revenue exceeding 40% of total revenue, only Farasis Energy saw revenue decline, while only EVE Energy experienced a drop in net profit attributable to shareholders. Other suppliers reported increases in both revenue and net profit. Notably, Zhengli New Energy turned profitable, while Ruipu Lanjun reduced losses by 90% and is approaching breakeven.

However, observing accounts receivable cycles reveals that automaker payment term improvements are not evident. Previously, on June 10-11, 17 automakers collectively committed to compressing supplier payment terms to no more than 60 days to alleviate cash flow pressure on component companies, with battery companies included as core new energy vehicle suppliers.

Statistical analysis of 12 mainstream power battery suppliers shows average accounts receivable and bill turnover days of 94.75 days in the first half, extending 5.35 days compared to 89.4 days at end-2024. Seven suppliers shortened their receivables cycles while five saw increases. Additional major suppliers like SVOLT Energy, Envision AESC, and Chu Energy have not been included in statistics as they remain unlisted.

**Payment Term Variations: BYD Lowest at 25 Days, Gotion High-tech Highest at 163 Days**

Companies that shortened payment cycles reduced turnover days by only 1-3 days, while those with extended cycles mostly increased by over 10 days, resulting in overall extension of average receivables turnover days.

Specifically, seven suppliers with shortened receivables cycles in the first half of 2025 were EVE Energy, Ruipu Lanjun, Zhengli New Energy, China Aviation Lithium Battery, Ganfeng Lithium, CATL, and BYD Company Limited. BYD reduced its receivables turnover days by 3 to 26 days, becoming the supplier with the shortest receivables cycle among the 12 companies, clearly demonstrating its supply chain advantages through vertical integration.

CATL's market influence was again confirmed, with first-half receivables turnover days of 64.59 days, minimally shortened from 64.66 days at year-end, closely approaching the "60-day payment term." Additionally, EVE Energy's first-half accounts receivable and bill turnover days were 110 days, down 2 days from year-end; Ruipu Lanjun decreased 1 day to 108 days; Zhengli New Energy decreased 3 days to 96 days; China Aviation Lithium Battery decreased 1 day to 92 days; and Ganfeng Lithium decreased 1 day to 84 days.

Five suppliers with increased receivables turnover days in the first half were Gotion High-tech, Penghui Energy, Sunwoda, Farasis Energy, and Tianneng Power. Gotion High-tech's accounts receivable and bill turnover days increased to 163 days, up 11 days from year-end, becoming the supplier with the longest receivables cycle among the 12 companies. Penghui Energy increased 30 days to 147 days, Sunwoda increased 16 days to 110 days, Farasis Energy increased 7 days to 108 days, and Tianneng Power increased 11 days to 28 days.

These figures are for reference only, as most automotive battery suppliers' main businesses extend beyond power batteries to include energy storage battery operations. The "battery giants" CATL and BYD Company Limited dominate both power battery and energy storage markets. Other suppliers including EVE Energy, Sunwoda, China Aviation Lithium Battery, Gotion High-tech, and Ruipu Lanjun also operate energy storage battery businesses serving power storage, commercial and industrial storage, residential storage, telecommunications storage, and data center markets. Therefore, the receivables turnover days reflect overall payment terms from automotive clients and other business customers, not exclusively automotive payment terms.

**Typical Supplier Payment Terms: CATL at 65 Days, Closest to Automaker "60-Day Commitment"**

To better approximate automotive payment terms from battery suppliers' perspective, analysis focused on seven companies with power battery revenue exceeding 40% of total revenue from the 12 suppliers. Five companies were excluded due to lack of detailed power battery business proportion disclosure in financial reports.

BYD incorporates power battery products into "automobiles, automotive-related products and other products," which generated 302.5 billion yuan in first-half revenue, representing 81.48% of total revenue. Ganfeng Lithium similarly includes power batteries in lithium battery business encompassing solid-state lithium batteries, power batteries, and consumer batteries, generating 29.75 billion yuan in first-half revenue or 35.52% of total revenue.

While Sunwoda's electric vehicle battery business showed significant growth with first-half power battery shipments of 16.08GWh (up 93.04%) and revenue of 7.604 billion yuan (up 22.63%), this represented only 26.86% of total revenue. Penghui Energy has not disclosed separate power battery data, incorporating it into lithium-ion battery business covering energy storage, new energy vehicles, light power, and consumer electronics, generating 3.9 billion yuan in first-half revenue or 91% of total revenue.

Among the seven selected suppliers, fewer showed extended receivables cycles while more showed shortened cycles, aligning with automaker trends to compress payment terms, though distinctions remain difficult. Battery suppliers typically maintain "one-to-many" relationships, supplying multiple automakers. EVE Energy serves BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, GAC, FAW, Changan, and new-force automakers including Xpeng and Leapmotor. China Aviation Lithium Battery customers include Xpeng, Ledo, Leapmotor, Audi, BAIC, Chery, Dongfeng, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Toyota.

CATL supplies power batteries to Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo, Stellantis, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Geely Automobile, Xiaomi Group, Li Auto, NIO, SAIC Motor, and Yutong Bus. These suppliers serve both domestic and international automakers, with receivables cycles reflecting comprehensive coverage results.

Using Zhengli New Energy as an example, first-half revenue reached 3.172 billion yuan, up 72%, with net profit of 220 million yuan turning profitable. Its major customer Leapmotor also turned profitable with 33 million yuan in first-half net profit due to doubled delivery scale. However, Leapmotor's accounts payable and bill turnover days increased to 182.52 days, extending 7 days from the previous year, while Zhengli New Energy's receivables cycle shortened approximately 3 days.

Among 18 mainstream passenger vehicle companies in the first half, 12 extended payment terms while 6 shortened them, with over 60% increasing payment cycles. The average accounts payable and bill turnover days for 18 automakers was 187.97 days, up 12.22 days from 175.75 days at end-2024. Therefore, battery suppliers' receivables cycles cannot easily correspond to automaker payment cycles.

In battery supplier financial reports, receivables are often treated as credit extensions with collection cycles more lenient than "60-day terms" and interest-free. China Aviation Lithium Battery had first-half receivables of 8.41 billion yuan and receivable bills of 960 million yuan, totaling 9.372 billion yuan. The company grants independent third parties credit terms generally of 90 days, with maximum credit limits for each customer; new customers typically require advance payment. Receivables aging concentrates within six months, with 8.012 billion yuan to be collected within 180 days.

This supplier's passenger vehicle market share continues rising, with first-half power battery installations of 21.8GWh, up 22.7%, ranking fourth globally and third domestically. Domestic market share reached 7.4% in June and increased to 8.25% in July.

Ruipu Lanjun also treats receivables as credit, stating trade terms with customers are mainly credit-based with 1-3 month credit periods. Financial reports indicate trade receivables bear no interest, while receivable bills are all bank acceptance bills within six months with no overdue or impairment issues.

Gotion High-tech ranks fourth domestically with 5.18% first-half domestic power battery installation market share, serving customers including Chery, Geely, and Leapmotor. While revenue grows, receivables scale is also climbing. Financial reports show first-half accounts receivable and bills of 18.355 billion yuan, approaching revenue scale of 19.394 billion yuan, representing primary credit risk concentration. The company proposes two response strategies: optimizing customer structure by concentrating resources on strategic customers with timely payments and strong financial capabilities, and innovating financial and cooperation models to reduce receivables risk.

Additionally, Penghui Energy's receivables-to-revenue ratio is 89%, while EVE Energy, Ruipu Lanjun, and Sunwoda exceed 60%. Farasis Energy, China Aviation Lithium Battery, and Zhengli New Energy all exceed 50%. The "battery giants" CATL and BYD Company Limited show receivables-to-revenue ratios of 35.84% and 11.68% respectively.

Smaller automaker power battery suppliers generally have elevated receivables, while leading companies show the opposite trend. CATL's receivables amount mainly concentrates in accounts receivable, with accounts receivable of 66.672 billion yuan and receivable bills of only 315 million yuan. By aging, accounts receivable within one year reaches 63.933 billion yuan, with minimal proportion beyond one year.

BYD Company Limited's receivables derive entirely from accounts receivable, with zero receivable bills. This indicates that automaker payment term improvements primarily target smaller battery suppliers, while leading companies already approach 60-day terms or operate within committed timeframes.