Growth Fueled by Domestic Market? CATL Surpasses SK and Samsung Even Outside China

SNE Research Global Electric Vehicle Battery Usage Excluding China
CATL Rises to 3rd Place Outside China Following LG and Panasonic

Zeng Yuqun, Chairman of Chinese battery company Ningde Shidai (CATL)

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Chinese company Ningde Shidai (CATL), which has emerged as the world's largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer, is rapidly increasing its supply volume outside of China as well. It grew in size benefiting from the Chinese government's drive to expand domestic electric vehicle adoption, and now it is actively expanding its customer base in other regions through aggressive sales efforts.

According to the global electric vehicle battery usage data excluding China from January to October this year, released by market research firm SNE Research on the 15th, CATL batteries were used at a scale of 14.0 GWh. About 3.6 GWh were used during the same period last year, more than tripling. Its market share increased from 6.2% to 12.5%, more than doubling. This statistic is compiled by calculating battery usage based on electric vehicle (including PHEV and HEV) sales worldwide.

CATL ranks third globally, surpassing SK On and Samsung SDI. This is thanks to increased sales of pure electric vehicles using CATL batteries, such as Tesla Model 3, Mercedes-Benz EQA, and BMW iX3, which are made in China and exported to Europe. While CATL has risen to become the number one battery manufacturer worldwide including China, excluding China it had been ranked around 5th or 6th with a small gap.

Global Electric Vehicle Battery Usage Excluding China

Battery usage for SK On and Samsung SDI increased to 12.4 GWh and 10.0 GWh respectively compared to the same period last year, but their growth was smaller compared to CATL. SK On's market share was 11.1%, and Samsung SDI's was 8.9%, ranking 4th and 5th respectively. LG Energy Solution holds the top position outside China with a market share of 36.2%, which increased from last year. Including China, CATL's global market share is 31.2%, widening the gap with LG Energy Solution by about 10 percentage points and solidifying its dominant position.

CATL is rapidly increasing supply volume through vigorous expansion within China, while also actively expanding its market in Europe and other regions. It is building a production plant in Germany, the largest automobile market in Europe, and is reportedly conducting aggressive sales activities targeting Hyundai Motor and Kia, which have emerged as global leaders in electric vehicles. Last month, it also established a branch office in South Korea. Although there are no concrete moves yet, discussions about establishing a factory in the United States, where trade disputes are possible, have been ongoing for several years. With a diverse product portfolio including relatively inexpensive and safe lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and economies of scale, CATL is rapidly increasing its customer base.

SNE Research stated, "CATL's status is rising in markets outside China as well," adding, "Since the three Korean companies are fiercely competing with CATL and Panasonic in the global electric vehicle market excluding China, a new market strategy is required at this point."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.