CATL Widens Lead As Korean Makers Slip
Although the global electric vehicle battery market continued its double-digit growth, the combined market share of the three domestic battery makers dropped to the 12% range. While the North American electric vehicle market contracted, Chinese companies further increased their market dominance by e
In October 2023, the global electric vehicle battery market continued its upward trajectory, growing by a double-digit percentage, while Korean battery makers faced a decline in their combined market share. Chinese companies, particularly CATL, bolstered their dominance by sourcing supplies from overseas and leveraging the cost-effectiveness of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
As of August 2023, the global battery usage in electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hybrid vehicles reached 844.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh), marking a 19.7% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. Meanwhile, August's battery usage saw a 14.3% rise, reaching 116.8GWh. However, the growth rate slowed down, falling below the 23.3% pace recorded in July and dipping below the 20% threshold.
CATL emerged as the top player, securing 333.0GWh of battery usage, a 25.2% increase year-over-year. Its market share also expanded, climbing from 37.7% to 39.4%. BYD, the second-largest player, saw a 6.2% rise in usage, totaling 127.9GWh, but its market share dipped from 17.1% to 15.1%. The top seven Chinese companies, including CATL and BYD, collectively increased their market share by 3.6 percentage points, reaching 73.3%.
CALB, Gotion, EVE, and SVOLT also experienced growth, with REPT recording the highest growth rate among the top 10 companies at 126.3%. Conversely, the combined market share of domestic Korean manufacturers, including LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI, dropped by 3.9 percentage points, falling from 16.6% to 12.7%. LG Energy Solution maintained third place with 68.3GWh of battery usage, a 0.9% increase from the previous year.
However, its market share decreased by 1.5 percentage points, from 9.6% to 8.1%. SK On secured the eighth position with 24.9GWh, marking a 14.5% decline compared to the same period last year. Its market share also dropped by 1.2 percentage points to 2.9%. Samsung SDI, however, failed to make it into the top 10. Regionally, battery usage surged in China by 16.9% and Europe by 29.2%.
In contrast, North America experienced a decline in battery usage by 23.7%, recording just 73.1GWh, becoming the sole region to witness negative growth. By battery material, the share of LFP batteries rose by 5.1 percentage points, increasing from 52.2% last year to 57.3% this year. Additionally, the average battery capacity per electric vehicle grew by 11.9%, escalating from 35.1 kilowatt-hours (kWh) to 39.2kWh, fueling the overall growth in battery usage.
Written by urgent.news from BusinessKorea's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
