LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI Lose Shares
SK On ranked fifth in the global electric vehicle (EV) battery market in the January-April period of 2022 with a 7.0 percent share, up 1.7 percentage points from the same period a year ago.
But LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI suffered a drop in their market shares.
SNE Research said SK On showed a 141.3 percent growth in battery sales in the first four months of 2022.
LG Energy Solution, which came in second, posted a 19.1 percent increase in sales, but its market share fell from 22.9 percent in 2021 to 14.1 percent. Samsung SDI saw its sales grow 26.9 percent, but its market share dwindled from 5.8 percent to 4.0 percent.
The three major Korean battery makers had continued to grow, but their combined market share shrank due to a much faster growth pace of their Chinese competitors.
First-placed CATL maintained its No. 1 position with a 33.7 percent market share. Its sales increased 114.1 percent compared with the same period in 2021. BYD in third place recorded a market share of 12.1 percent, twice that of the previous year (6.8 percent). Its sales surged 224.5 percent. Sunwoda ranked 9th, based on a whopping 770.3 percent increase in sales.
In April alone, BYD surpassed LG Energy Solution to become the No. 2 player. Its market share expanded to 15.9 percent against LG's 12.8 percent. Analysts attributed the change in the rankings to the operation suspension of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory due to the Chinese government’s COVID-19 lockdown measures.
“The growth rates of CATL and LG Energy Solution fell in April due to Tesla’s plant suspension, but they are expected to recover quickly as Tesla's operation has been normalized,” SNE Research said.
From January to April this year, the total amount of battery energy for electric vehicles registered globally stood at 122.9GWh. This was an increase of 83.4 percent compared to the same period of 2021. An upward curve in the battery market has continued since starting in the third quarter of 2020. Most Japanese companies including Panasonic saw their market shares plummet due to growth rates below the market average.