Korean Media: South Korean Battery Market Share Plummets, Chinese Companies Remain at the Top!

On October 1, the Korean media outlet "Chosun Ilbo" published an article stating that in the global electric vehicle battery market outside of China, Chinese companies such as Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) and BYD have shown high growth, while the market share of three South Korean battery companies has declined.

Especially BYD, which is increasingly influential in the European market, saw a year-on-year growth of 141.6%, surpassing Samsung SDI and rising to fifth place.

According to energy market research company SNE Research, from January to July this year, the total battery usage for pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles registered worldwide outside of China was approximately 246.2 GWh, representing a 24.9% year-on-year increase.

Although the overall market expanded, the combined market share of the three South Korean battery companies, LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI, was 37.8%, down 7.1 percentage points from the previous year.

LG Energy Solution, with a battery usage of 50.9 GWh, grew by 6.2%, remaining in second place, just behind Chinese CATL.

SK On, ranked third, had a battery shipment of 24.6 GWh, growing by 17.3%. Meanwhile, Samsung SDI's battery shipments were 17.7 GWh, declining by 10.4%, handing over the fifth position to BYD.

Japanese Panasonic, which mainly supplies batteries to Tesla, maintained the fourth position with 21.4 GWh, growing by 12.4%.

Chinese companies promoting low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries also achieved strong growth in markets outside of China.

Global leader CATL saw a year-on-year increase of 35.1% in battery usage, reaching 73.3 GWh, maintaining its leading position with a 29.8% market share.

BYD surpassed Samsung SDI with 18.4 GWh of battery usage, ranking fifth.

Notably, BYD's battery usage in Europe reached 6.9 GWh in the first half of this year, up 260.7% year-on-year.

Five Chinese companies, including CATL, BYD, ProLogium (7th), Gotion High-Tech (8th), and Guoxuan High-Tech (9th), entered the top ten.

SNE Research predicts: "The best solution for South Korean companies lies in designing batteries with different cathode materials for different regions and expanding localized production in supply chains outside of North America and China to enhance their ability to withstand policy shocks. Ultimately, companies with technological advantages, policy responsiveness, and supply chain independence are expected to stand out in the next cycle."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844780393263111/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.