Explosive Growth
At the beginning of 2023, the three major Korean battery makers have been cruising with high growth rates compared to the previous year. However, as Chinese companies showed explosive growth, LG Energy Solution was pushed down to third place.
According to SNE Research on March 30, total batteries in use by electric vehicles (EVs, PHEVs and HEVs) registered around the world in January and February of this year reached about 75.2 gigawatt hours (GWh), a 39.0 percent increase from the previous year.
The use of LG Energy Solution’s batteries increased by 51.9 percent compared to the same period last year (6.6 GWh) to 10.0 GWh as of January and February in 2023. Analysts say that LG Energy Solution’s business was influenced by strong sales of Tesla, Ford, and Volkswagen vehicles powered by batteries from LG Energy Solution.
LG Energy Solution outgrew China's CATL, which ranks first in the global market. The use of CATL's batteries in January and February came in at 25.5 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 34.0 percent. CATL's market share was tallied at 33.9 percent.
However, China's BYD took second place, recording a growth rate of more than double thanks to its brisk sales in the Chinese market. LG Energy Solution fell to third place with a market share of 13.3 percent. BYD's battery usage in January and February of this year hit 13.7 GWh, up 122.6 percent from the same period last year. BYD's market share stood at 18.2 percent.
Samsung SDI also showed a high growth rate of 57.2 percent. Its battery usage in January and February was 3.7 GWh, ranking 6th (a 4.9 percent share). SK On’s growth rate ranked 5th, staying relatively low at 3.8 percent with the use of its batteries standing at 4.1 GWh.
The three Korean battery makers’ combined market share sat at 23.7 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from the same period of 2022.
Panasonic of Japan placed fourth with a market share of 5.5 percent. Panasonic battery use in January and February hit 4.1 GWh, up 47.6 percent from the same period of last year.