智通财经网·2026-02-13 02:23Core Viewpoint - The report from Zhongyuan Securities maintains an "outperform" investment rating for the lithium battery sector, predicting that the sector will outperform the CSI 300 index in January 2026 due to prior corrections and overall price increases in the supply chain [1] Group 1: Lithium Battery Sector Performance - In January 2026, the lithium battery index rose by 3.31%, while the new energy vehicle index increased by 0.44%, compared to a 1.65% rise in the CSI 300 index, indicating stronger performance of the lithium battery sector [1] Group 2: New Energy Vehicle Sales - In January 2026, sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 945,000 units, a slight year-on-year increase of 0.11%, but a month-on-month decline of 44.71%, with January sales accounting for 40.28% of total sales [2] Group 3: Battery Installation and Material Prices - In January 2026, the installed capacity of power batteries was 42.0 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 8.25%, with ternary materials accounting for 22.38% of the total installation [2] - As of February 12, 2026, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate was 143,000 CNY/ton, up 19.17% from early January, while lithium hydroxide rose by 26.67% to 142,500 CNY/ton [3] - The price of cobalt electrolyte was 428,000 CNY/ton, down 7.16% from early January, while lithium iron phosphate increased by 13.17% to 52,400 CNY/ton [3]