Tongwei Discloses Production Control and Reduction Plan
On November 3rd, Tongwei Co., Ltd.-a big name in the global solar power business-held an online meeting to talk about its Q3 2025 performance. Two hot topics were on the table: how the company did in the first three quarters and how the solar industry is fighting "price wars" (what we call "anti-involution"). As a top maker of solar modules (solar panels), solar cells, and polysilicon (a key material for solar products), Tongwei's moves matter a lot to the world's solar market.
1. Tongwei's Winter Plan: Cutting Production to Stay Stable
Tongwei's leaders said they'll temporarily cut production and do maintenance on some factories. Why? Because winter in southwest China is the dry season-there's less hydropower, so electricity prices for their plants there will go up. This step helps them save money and keeps the global polysilicon market steady. After all, polysilicon is what makes solar cells and panels work.
This isn't new for Tongwei. Back in December 2024, during the last dry season, they did the same thing at four polysilicon factories in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. That was also to fix the problem of having too many solar products on the market.
2. Better Earnings: Losing Less Money as Solar Prices Recover
Tongwei's Q3 2025 financial report brought good news: they lost 315 million RMB, which is way better than the 844 million RMB loss in Q3 2024. It's also a huge improvement from the 2.593 billion RMB loss in Q1 2025 and 2.362 billion RMB loss in Q2 2025.
What turned things around? Polysilicon prices bounced back! They went from a low of 30,000 RMB per ton earlier this year to around 50,000 RMB per ton. Plus, the cost of materials and other inputs went down. Thanks to this, Tongwei's polysilicon business started making money in Q3-and that's great for their solar cells and panels production too.
3. Why Solar Industry Had Price Wars & How We're Stopping Them
3.1 How Price Wars Started
Since 2021, solar power has become super popular. Lots of companies from different industries invested big money in building solar factories. The problem? They made way more solar products than the market needed. To sell their goods, companies started slashing prices-this "race to the bottom" hurt everyone making solar panels and cells around the world. At one point, polysilicon prices crashed from 200,000 RMB per ton to just 30,000 RMB per ton.
3.2 Governments Step In to Stop the Chaos
To end these harmful price wars, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) gathered 14 major solar companies and industry groups in July 2025. They made it clear: they're against these unfair price fights. In August, MIIT teamed up with five other government departments to roll out specific rules. These actions helped calm the global solar supply chain, and prices for solar panels and cells started to recover to normal levels.
4. Current Situation: Getting Better But Still Tough
Even though prices are up and some companies are doing better, the global solar industry is still going through hard times. An industry group said there's still too much polysilicon on the market. In the short term, prices might go up and down a bit. Big companies like Tongwei cutting production helps ease the supply pressure, but it can't fix the "too much supply" problem completely. That means solar panel and cell makers still face challenges.
5. What's Next? Two Big Things That Will Shape the Solar Market
Whether the solar industry can truly end price wars and keep making money depends on two key factors:
New Joint Company Launch: 17 major companies plan to set up a joint platform to control how much solar material they produce. This needs to happen on time.
More Solar Installations in Q4: The fourth quarter is usually the busy season for installing solar panels. Will the demand be higher than expected? This is especially important in big markets like Europe, Southeast Asia, and North America.
For Tongwei and other top companies, saving money and cutting production in an orderly way is much better than fighting price wars. These two factors will decide the future of the global solar market and how well solar panel and cell businesses can survive long-term.
Conclusion
As the global solar industry tries to get out of the price war mess, moves by key players like Tongwei and government support will be crucial. If you're an international buyer or investor, keep an eye on polysilicon prices, production changes, and how much people are buying solar panels. These will help you understand the changing solar market better.