Korean Media: China's Battery Industry Roars Ahead, While South Korea's Struggles to Keep Up!

On June 27, Korean media outlet Today's Finance published an article stating that as Chinese battery manufacturers rapidly expand their influence in overseas markets, the positions of South Korea's top three battery companies have further declined. In the first quarter of this year, Chinese enterprises such as CATL and BYD achieved double-digit growth, while LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On all experienced negative growth.

Data released by professional energy market research firm SNE Research shows that in the first quarter of this year, the total battery usage for pure electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) across global markets outside China amounted to approximately 117.4 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 17.4%.

Despite overall growth in the global battery market, the combined market share of South Korea’s three major battery firms—LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI—declined to 29.6%, down 8.3 percentage points from the same period last year. This decline was driven by weak EV sales performance among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with higher adoption rates of Korean batteries, while Chinese automakers are increasingly entering the market through diversified customer strategies.

Looking at individual companies, LG Energy Solution used 20.3 GWh of batteries in the first quarter of this year, a slight decrease of 0.1% compared to the same period last year, with its market share dropping to 17.3%, down 3.1 percentage points year-on-year. Although it still holds the second position, the gap between LG and leading company CATL has widened further.

SK On ranked fifth, with battery usage at 9.0 GWh, down 10.2%, and its market share fell from 10.1% to 7.7%. Samsung SDI ranked sixth, with battery usage at 5.3 GWh, a year-on-year decline of 27.7%, and its market share dropped from 7.4% to 4.5%.

In contrast, Chinese companies expanded their presence in global markets beyond China. CATL maintained its leadership, using 39.7 GWh of batteries during this period, a year-on-year increase of 32%. Its market share grew to 33.8%, up 3.8 percentage points from last year. Diversification of clients played a key role. Growth was primarily driven by increased battery installations for global automakers such as Tesla, Audi, Toyota, and Kia. Notably, rising sales of the Kia EV5 and PV5 also contributed to an expansion in market share.

BYD ranked third with 11.3 GWh of battery shipments, up 60.6% year-on-year.

Aside from CATL and BYD, six other Chinese companies also made it into the top ten globally outside China: Gotion High-Tech (7th), Faradion (8th), CALB (9th), and Envision AESC (10th). All these Chinese firms saw increases in both battery usage and market share.

Japan’s Panasonic, one of the main suppliers of batteries for Tesla, ranked fourth. Despite a 4.0% increase in battery usage to 9.1 GWh, its market share fell from 8.7% last year to 7.7% this year.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869111953849483/

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