Korean Media: Chinese Firms Dominate Battery Market, Occupying Seven of Top Ten Spots!

On October 4, Korean newspaper The Korea Economic Daily published an article stating that Chinese enterprises have established a dominant position in the global battery market. Among the top ten companies globally, seven are Chinese, collectively holding over 70% of the market share. These firms not only lead South Korea and Japan in solid-state battery technology—often dubbed "dream batteries"—but also maintain a leading edge in emerging technologies such as sodium-ion batteries.

Data released by market research firm SNE Research shows that from January to June this year, the top seven Chinese battery manufacturers accounted for 72.4% of the total installed capacity—608.5 GWh—for battery packs in pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, up 1.5 percentage points from 70.9% during the same period last year.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), the world’s largest battery manufacturer, achieved rapid growth. In the first half of this year, CATL’s battery sales reached 242.7 GWh, a 25.3% increase compared to 193.7 GWh in the same period last year. Its market share rose from 38.2% to 39.9%, approaching the 40% threshold. BYD ranked second with a 14.4% share. Together, CATL and BYD captured 54.3% of the global market, surpassing half of the total.

Among the top ten, seven are Chinese firms, including CALB (fourth place) and Gotion High-Tech (fifth place). LG Energy Solution saw its market share decline by one percentage point to 8.6% in the first half of the year. SK On retained eighth position with a 4.0% share. Samsung SDI fell out of the top ten.

The rapid rise of Chinese battery makers began with a shift in market focus from NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) batteries to LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries. Just a few years ago, major South Korean battery producers—including LG Energy Solution—were heavily investing in NMC batteries, citing “significant limitations in range and power output” for LFP alternatives. However, as Chinese companies poured substantial resources into R&D, they successfully developed cost-competitive LFP batteries with performance comparable to NMC. The adoption of LFP batteries by Tesla and other automakers further altered market dynamics. Today, LFP batteries account for more than 60% of applications in electric vehicles, and over 90% in energy storage systems. Although South Korean firms have recently begun developing LFP batteries tailored for EVs, analysts note that the technological gap remains significant.

Future challenges remain. Companies like CATL have already commenced mass production of sodium-ion batteries, considered a next-generation solution for energy storage. Industry projections suggest widespread adoption in energy storage systems due to their low cost and reduced fire risk. Meanwhile, South Korean firms remain in the research and development phase.

China is also accelerating development of solid-state batteries. Battery and automotive manufacturers in China view next year as the commercialization milestone for solid-state technology. CATL and BYD have announced plans to begin small-scale production of solid-state batteries for vehicles. In South Korea, Samsung SDI intends to initiate partial production by the end of next year.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1878120426509593/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.