Survey shows China's EV battery market share is rising rapidly

Global EV battery usage was 287.6GWh from January to August this year, a 78.7% increase from a year ago, market research firm SNE Research said on October 6. The use of CATL EV batteries increased by 114.7% year-on-year to 102.2GWh, and the company's market share rose from 29.6% to 35.5%.

In contrast, LG Energy Solutions' market share fell from 22.3% to 13.7%, and the combined market share of SK On, Samsung SDI and LG Energy Solutions fell from 33.5% to 25%. The use of BYD electric vehicle batteries increased by more than 192% year-on-year.

Right now, Chinese companies are rapidly expanding their overseas operations. Like CATL recently announced that its cylindrical batteries will be supplied to BMW starting in 2025. Currently, cylindrical cells are the main products of LG Energy Solutions, Samsung SDI and Panasonic.

CATL is currently building a 100GWh annual plant in Hungary with an investment of EUR 7.3 billion. This is CATL's second plant in Europe, after the German plant, which is scheduled to open this year. Separately, it is considering building a third plant in Europe to double its output.

China is dominating EV battery minerals, which is a huge advantage for Chinese EV battery makers. When it comes to mineral processing and smelting, China has a market share of 50% to 70% in different sectors. The raw materials used by Korean EV battery makers are in most cases imported from China.