CATL debuts e-commerce platform for direct sales to small buyers, as competition sharpens
China’s battery king Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) is enabling direct sales to smaller energy storage system makers via its own e-commerce platform, as competition with its domestic peers intensifies. The platform, officially launched on Friday, would offer orders as small as three boxes of its energy storage products, according to a social media post by the firm. CATL is…
China’s leading battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), has unveiled its own e-commerce platform to directly sell energy storage systems to smaller companies, amid increasing competition in the domestic market. The platform, officially introduced on Friday, offers orders as small as three boxes of CATL’s energy storage products.
According to the company’s social media post, the platform has already been adopted by over 1,800 energy storage firms who were previously buying through distributors. The small orders under this new system would come with a five-year quality warranty and a delivery time of three to five days, matching the conditions for CATL’s larger customers.
As the global energy crisis intensifies and AI data centers invest heavily, CATL is seeking to cater to distributed solar users, including residential and small commercial customers. Analyst Lucas Zhang Liutong from Hong Kong-based WaterRock Energy Economics suggests that the e-commerce platform could also help CATL secure a better price through its strong brand reputation.
Despite the comparatively small order sizes, CATL may be able to offer a slightly lower price due to its product quality and brand recognition. However, CATL’s global market share in energy storage, which uses lithium-ion batteries, has decreased to 27.1% in the first half of this year, down from 30% in 2025 and 38% in 2024. This decline is attributed to the increasing competition from domestic rivals like Hithium and EVE Energy, as well as the Middle East mega deal secured by BYD and Sungrow Power Supply.
On the positive side, household battery energy storage is booming, with CATL claiming the global lead in grid and commercial segments. During the first half of this year, household battery shipments surged by 128% year-on-year, marking the fastest growth among the three segments: grid, commercial, and household. CATL’s net profit also increased by 42% year-on-year to 43.28 billion yuan (US$6.43 billion).
Nevertheless, the gross profit margins for both EV batteries and energy storage, CATL’s two biggest revenue drivers, have narrowed to 20.63% and 23.96%, respectively, levels not observed since 2023.
Written by urgent.news from SCMP Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
