South Korean media: South Korean batteries are surpassed by Chinese companies for the first time in markets outside China!
On June 7, the South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo published an article stating that in the global electric vehicle battery market excluding China, South Korean battery manufacturers have been overtaken by Chinese companies for the first time. The operating profit of China's leading battery company, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), is seven times that of South Korea's largest battery company, LG Energy Solution. The South Korean industry is increasingly worried that without special measures, South Korea's world-leading myth in the battery sector may soon be shattered.
Data from market research firm SNE Research shows that in the first quarter of this year, among the top 10 companies in the global electric vehicle battery market excluding China, the share of Chinese companies was 42.0%, surpassing the 40.3% share of South Korea's three battery companies by 1.7 percentage points. In 2022, South Korea led China by 26.9 percentage points, and last year this gap narrowed to 8.5 percentage points. In the first quarter of this year, it reversed for the first time.
Despite the ongoing temporary slowdown in electric vehicle demand, Chinese battery companies continue to thrive. In the first quarter of this year, CATL's sales reached 84.7 billion yuan RMB, with an operating profit of 14.8 billion yuan RMB. During the same period, LG Energy Solution's operating profit was only 374.7 billion won (about 1.95 billion yuan RMB).
South Korean battery companies are facing a dilemma of having to continue investing while still operating at a loss to maintain competitiveness. South Korean battery companies are raising their own investment funds and expanding factories. Industry insiders revealed that the total debt of South Korea's three battery companies reached 49.6 trillion won, an increase of about 7 trillion won compared to the end of last year.
Experts pointed out that if South Korea does not want to give up on the battery industry, the government needs to provide support given the current reversal in the ranking of the battery industry.
Professor Choi Jang-woo of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University stated, "When the battery market revives, it will likely be the moment when Chinese and South Korean enterprises confront each other directly. Direct government support is not a panacea, but it can become a catalyst for enhancing the competitiveness of South Korean industries through technological development."
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834257860817932/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.