Total battery use reaches 360.5 GWh, up 23.7% year on year

Six Chinese firms now hold 56.2% share, topping half of non-China market

South Korea's three battery makers see combined share fall from 37.9% to 26.8%

A cell factory operated by Chinese battery maker CATL in Debrecen, Hungary. [AFP]
A cell factory operated by Chinese battery maker CATL in Debrecen, Hungary. [AFP]

Electric vehicle battery usage in global markets outside China rose nearly 24 percent in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period last year, driven by strong growth from CATL and BYD, whose combined market share climbed to 44.7 percent.

According to market research firm SNE Research, total EV battery usage — covering battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrid electric vehicles — in non-China markets reached approximately 360.5 gigawatt-hours from January through August, a 23.7 percent increase year on year. The growth rate in the non-China market outpaced the global average of 19.7 percent by 4.0 percentage points.

The monthly growth rate slowed to 9.0 percent in August alone, however. SNE Research said the deceleration clearly reflected a demand gap in North America.

By manufacturer, CATL held onto first place with 121.3 GWh, up 43.3 percent, lifting its market share from 29.0 percent to 33.7 percent — a gain of 4.7 percentage points. BYD surged 66.5 percent to 39.7 GWh, with its share rising 2.8 percentage points to 11.0 percent from 8.2 percent. Together, the two companies now account for 44.7 percent of the market, up 7.5 percentage points in a year.

CATL expanded its European usage from 61.8 GWh to 80.6 GWh, a 30.4 percent increase, while its usage in Asia more than doubled to 24.0 GWh. The company also began trial cell production at its factory in Debrecen, Hungary, last month. BYD posted growth across all regions, including Europe, Asia and South America.

Smaller Chinese rivals also made notable advances. Gotion reached 14.4 GWh, up 147.2 percent; SVOLT hit 11.4 GWh, up 105.2 percent; and CALB grew 77.6 percent to 8.4 GWh. EVE recorded the highest growth rate among the top 10 manufacturers, surging 185.6 percent to 7.5 GWh.

The six Chinese firms combined — including CATL and BYD — saw their collective share jump 12.6 percentage points to 56.2 percent from 43.6 percent, surpassing half of the non-China market.

South Korea's three major battery makers, by contrast, saw their combined usage fall 12.8 percent to 96.5 GWh, with their collective share dropping 11.1 percentage points to 26.8 percent from 37.9 percent. The primary drag was a 46.5 percent plunge in North American usage, from 47.4 GWh to 25.3 GWh. Gains in Europe and Asia were not enough to offset the North American decline.

LG Energy Solution remained in second place overall despite a 5.8 percent decline to 58.1 GWh, with its share falling from 21.2 percent to 16.1 percent. European and Asian usage rose 9.8 percent and 44.4 percent, respectively, but North American usage dropped 42.3 percent to 14.6 GWh.

SK On fell 14.4 percent to 24.8 GWh, with its share declining from 9.9 percent to 6.9 percent. North American usage dropped 41.8 percent and European usage fell 1.5 percent. SK On signed a lithium iron phosphate cathode material supply agreement with Posco Future M last month worth approximately 1.1 trillion won ($819 million), and is expanding its North American energy storage system business centered on its Georgia factory.

Samsung SDI posted the steepest decline among the three, falling 32.0 percent to 13.6 GWh, with its share shrinking from 6.8 percent to 3.8 percent. European usage of 8.3 GWh was roughly flat year on year, but North American usage plunged 62.0 percent to 3.9 GWh, reflecting a slowdown in electrification plans among key customers including BMW, Audi and Rivian.

By battery chemistry, the share of lithium iron phosphate batteries expanded 11.9 percentage points to 27.5 percent from 15.6 percent. SNE Research said price competitiveness has emerged as a key factor in supplier selection, citing Ford's launch of LFP cell production under a technology license from CATL as an example.

SNE Research said North America is likely to continue defending factory utilization rates through demand from energy storage systems and data centers as overall demand contracts following the end of tax credits. In Europe, the firm said local production capacity, price competitiveness and supply chain traceability — needed to comply with the battery passport regulation taking effect in February 2027 — will be the critical variables, as discussions intensify over local content requirements and Chinese manufacturers begin full-scale operation of their regional factories.


eyre@heraldcorp.com