Korean Media: After Five Years, CATL Regains Half of China's Power Battery Market!

On April 29, South Korean media outlet NEWSPIM published an article stating that CATL, a global leader in power batteries, has once again captured over 50% of China’s domestic market share after five years.

According to recent data on China’s power battery market share released by the China Passenger Car Association, CATL held a 50.1% market share in the first quarter of 2026.

The last time CATL secured more than half of the power battery market was five years ago. Its previous market share exceeding 50% occurred in 2021, when it reached 51.9%. Since then, CATL’s market share has fluctuated between 43% and 48% over the past four years.

Last year, CATL’s market share briefly dropped to 43.5%, facing strong competition from rivals such as BYD. However, in the first quarter of 2026, BYD’s market share declined to 17.5%—down from 21.8% in 2025 and significantly lower than its 26.9% share in 2023.

The strong rebound in CATL’s market share does not mean the Chinese power battery industry has returned to a past landscape dominated by just a few major players.

Currently, second-tier battery manufacturers led by Gotion High-Tech and EVE Energy are rapidly rising, reshaping the competitive landscape.

As leading companies consolidate their existing positions, second-tier firms strive for breakthroughs, and the competitive structure of the power battery industry is quietly transforming. While market share remains fundamental to corporate survival, profitability is increasingly becoming a more critical indicator of core competitiveness.

CATL’s net profit in 2025 was approximately RMB 72.2 billion. Meanwhile, profits at Zhongchuang Xinchuang and Gotion High-Tech also saw significant growth—indicating a favorable market environment.

This trend has even spurred automakers to enter the battery business, making the industry’s competitive structure more complex and diversified.

Some analysts believe the power battery sector has restructured into a duopoly dominated by CATL and BYD. In the first quarter of 2026, the combined market share of these two companies reached around 68%, while other companies accounted for over 30%.

However, from a long-term perspective, the concentration effect among top battery enterprises is gradually weakening.

In 2022, the combined market share of CATL and BYD once peaked at 72%, but now the market share of other companies is steadily expanding.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863791304332363/

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