Losing Ground to Chinese Companies

Korean battery makers saw their combined market share slide in the January-July period of this year.

Korean battery makers’ combined market share declined in the January-July period of this year due to the rapid growth of Chinese competitors. In particular, in the July rankings, China’s BYD claiming second place, beating out LG Energy Solution.

The total battery usage of electric vehicles (EVs) registered around the world from January to July stood at 2,408 GWh, up 76 percent from the same period of 2021, SNE Research said on Sept. 5.

The Korean battery trio’s combined market share stood at 25.9 percent, down by 8.3 percentage points from 34.2 percent in the same period of last year. By company, LG Energy Solution came in third with 14.2 percent, down 8.8 percentage points from 23.0 percent a year ago. SK On maintained its fifth place by raising its market share from 5.5 percent to 6.6 percent. Samsung SDI saw its market share fall from 5.7 percent to 5.1 percent, but remained at sixth place.

Although the three Korean battery makers suffered a drop in market share, they enjoyed steady growth in terms of sales volume. SK On sold 15.8GWh, a 107.8 percent increase compared to a year ago. Samsung SDI’s sales rose by 56.3 percent to 12.2GWh. LG Energy Solution posted 34.3GWh, a year-on-year increase of 9.0 percent.

SK On enjoyed a sharp sales increase as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 maintained steady sales. The Fiat 500, the Audi E-tron, the BMW Ix, and the i4 pushed up Samsung SDI’s battery sales. LG Energy Solution continued to grow thanks to increased sales of Ford’s Mustang Mach-E model, despite a recent sharp drop in sales of Tesla's Model 3 and the Model Y.

Korean companies’ market share has fallen because of the explosive growth of Chinese companies. CATL’s sales amounted to 83.6GWh, an increase of 110.6 percent compared to the same period of 2021. Its market share climbed from 29.0 percent to 34.7 percent. BYD’s sales volume reached 30.3GWh, showing a growth rate of a whopping 204.7 percent compared to 2021. It took third place with a market share of 12.6 percent, beating Japan’s Panasonic with 8.7 percent. The Japanese battery maker sold 20.8GWh of batteries.

In July, global EV battery usage hit 39.7GWh, up 82.6 percent from the same month of 2021. The rapid growth of Chinese companies pushed down LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI to third and seventh place in the monthly sales rankings, respectively.

BYD of China sold 6.4GWh, up 205.6 percent from the same month of 2021, climbing to second place past LG Energy Solution with 4.4GWh (an increase of 5.9 percent). CALB’s sales volume jumped by 185.5 percent to 2.1GWh, putting the company at sixth place above Samsung SDI (7th place), which sold 2.0GWh (66.3 percent). SK On sold 2.4GWh, keeping its fifth place following June.

Meanwhile, LG Energy Solution finished first in the global EV battery market, excluding China. The amount of battery energy for EVs registered in all countries except China from January to July of this year amounted to 105.5GWh, up 40.3 percent from the same period of 2021, according to SNE Research.

By company, LG Energy Solution maintained the top spot with 31.1GWh, up 18 percent from the same period of 2021. SK On took fourth place with 15.5GWh, up 108.1 percent, followed by Samsung SDI with 12.0GWh, an increase of 56.6 percent.

The three Korean battery makers’ combined market share stood at 55.6 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from last year. By company, LG Energy Solution’s share shrank from 35.1 percent last year to 29.5 percent this year. But that of SK On inflated from 9.9 percent to 14.7 percent and that of Samsung SDI expanded to 11.4 percent from 10.2 percent, respectively.

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