Despite the chasm controversy indicating temporary demand stagnation, the global electric vehicle battery market grew by 22.3% in the first half of this year. The market share of the three domestic battery companies?LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI?slightly decreased compared to last year.
According to energy market research firm SNE Research, the battery capacity installed in electric vehicles (including hybrid vehicles) worldwide from January to June this year reached 364.6 gigawatt-hours (GWh), a 22.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
China's CATL supplied 137.7 GWh of this total, capturing a 37.8% market share and maintaining its position as the global leader. Not only in the Chinese domestic market, the world's largest electric vehicle market, but also major manufacturers such as Tesla Model 3/Y, BMW iX, Mercedes EQ series, and Volkswagen ID series have adopted CATL batteries. CATL recorded sales of 87 billion yuan in the second quarter of this year, a 13.2% decrease compared to the same period last year, but its net profit increased by 13.4% year-on-year to 12.36 billion yuan, marking the third highest profitability in its history.
CATL launched the high-performance lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery Shenxing Plus in April this year and plans to release a new nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery product, Qilin, in the second half of the year. SNE Research explained, "Both new battery products have already secured numerous confirmed vehicle installations, and further expansion of market share within China is expected."
BYD supplied 57.5 GWh, ranking second worldwide with a 15.8% market share. Amid increasing hybrid technology competition among global manufacturers, BYD strategically targets both the battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) markets by launching a new hybrid vehicle capable of driving 2,100 km on a single charge.
The battery usage of the three domestic companies?LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI?also showed growth, but their total market share decreased by 3.0 percentage points (P) year-on-year to 22.1%.
LG Energy Solution supplied 46.9 GWh of batteries, securing third place with a 12.9% market share. SK On supplied 17.3 GWh, ranking fourth, while Samsung SDI supplied 16.4 GWh, placing sixth.
Among Japanese companies, Panasonic was the only one to make the top 10, recording battery usage of 16.2 GWh this year and ranking seventh, but it experienced a 25.1% decline compared to the same period last year. Panasonic is expected to recover its market share in the future as it is known to be launching 2170 and 4680 battery cells for Tesla.
SNE Research explained, "Despite the crisis, Chinese companies continue to increase sales of batteries for domestic electric vehicles through the 'dual circulation' policy, and the adoption of LFP batteries is expanding outside China, creating a favorable environment for Chinese battery companies." They added, "The U.S. and Europe are strengthening their restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles through domestic protection policies, which is expected to bring secondary benefits to domestic battery companies."
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