CATL regains top spot in global EV battery market

According to businesskorea, South Korea's largest battery manufacturer LG Chem and China's largest battery manufacturer CATL are competing for the top spot in the global electric vehicle (EV) battery market.

It is reported that energy market research company SNE Research recently stated that from January to September this year, CATL's electric vehicle battery usage reached 19.2 GWh, surpassing LG Chem.

From the manufacturer ranking, CATL's electric vehicle battery usage accounted for 23.1% of the total 83.0 GWh, ranking first. LG Chem was second, with battery usage of 18.9 GWh, accounting for 22.9%. Japan's Panasonic ranked third with 17.6 GWh (21.2%), Samsung SDI and SK Innovation ranked fourth and fifth with 5.1 GWh (6.2%) and 4.6 GWh (5.5%) respectively.

SNE Research said in an October report that LG Chem was slightly ahead of CATL in battery usage from January to September 2020. However, in a report released recently, the rankings of the two companies reversed.

A researcher at SNE Research said: "As sales of EVs equipped with CATL batteries were further confirmed in some European countries, LG Chem's data was also adjusted because some batteries used in Hyundai Motor's Kona EV were confirmed to come from SK Innovation, not LG Chem, so the use of CATL batteries increased."

The report pointed out that in the global electric vehicle battery market, the three giants LG Chem, CATL and Panasonic have been engaged in increasingly fierce competition, and they together account for 67% of the entire market share.

Based on the solid Chinese battery market, CATL maintained its first position for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019. As of 2019, CATL ranked first (27.9%), Panasonic ranked second (24.1%), and LG Chem ranked third (10.5%).

Since then, LG Chem has rapidly increased its market share, ranking first in annual cumulative battery usage in March 2020 and maintaining that position until August.