Korean media: CATL strives to expand its global market share! Compete with Korean companies

According to BusinessKorea, Chinese battery manufacturer CATL is working hard to expand its global market share and has started a "competition" with South Korea's LG Chem, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI.

It is reported that CATL has officially laid the foundation of its 21C Innovation Laboratory in Ningde, Fujian a few days ago. The total investment of the project is 3.3 billion yuan, and it is planned to be completed and partially put into use by the end of 2021.

In this regard, Korean battery manufacturers believe that if CATL significantly improves its technological strength, it will be able to rapidly expand its share in the global market. SNE Research said that based on CATL's dominance in China, the company accounted for 23.4% of the global electric vehicle market in the first quarter of 2019. Although CATL's market share fell to 17.4% in the first quarter of 2020 due to production line disruptions caused by the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic, as the epidemic eases, CATL's market share is expected to expand again.

Electric car makers interested in entering the Chinese market are closely watching the developments of CATL, which is working with Tesla to develop high-efficiency batteries. Some predict that Tesla could launch electric vehicles equipped with these batteries as early as the end of 2020.

"For Tesla, the world's largest electric car maker, cooperation with Chinese companies such as CATL is crucial to entering the Chinese market, while Korean companies will face greater difficulties in expanding their market share," said a South Korean battery industry insider.