Catl leading ex-China EV battery market

Almost 320GWh of batteries were installed in BEVs, PHEVs and HEVs outside the China domestic market in 2023, a 35pc year-on-year growth, according to South Korean Research firm SNE Research.

And Chinese battery firm Catl ended the year as the largest ex-China manufacturer with a 26.2pc market share, finally overhauling its largest non-China rival after a year-long pursuit. It was followed by South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) with 24.7pc, Japan's Panasonic Energy (19.5pc), and South Korea's SK On (10.1pc) and Samsung SDI (10pc).

Catl has been catching up with LGES all year, according to SNE data. At the end of April, its ex-China market share was 26.5pc compared to LGES' 27.8pc. After ten months of the year, the gap had narrowed to just 0.1 percentage points in LGES' favour, 27.7pc to Catl's 27.6pc.

And there is no sign of any respite for the South Korean firm in Catl's momentum. In January, according to SNE data, the Chinese battery maker captured 25.8pc of ex-China EV battery installation, to just 24.4pc for its Korean rival.

Catl’s batteries are used in Tesla Model 3 and Model Y products, as well as vehicles made by BMW, MG, Mercedes, and Volvo. Recently, Catl’s batteries have been installed to the new Hyundai Kona and Kia Ray models, expanding the firm’s footprint among South Korean OEMs.

LGES’ batteries are used by 24 OEMs including GM of the US, France's Renault and Sino-Swedish firm Volvo Cars. Amongst other leading battery makers, Panasonic Energy supplies its Japanses compatriot Toyota and some Tesla models, while SK On supplies Germany's VW.

The report noted a particular growth trend from Samsung SDI based on the increasing sales of the BMW i4 and iX, the Audi Q8 e-Tron, the Rivian R1T and the Fiat 500.

Hitting the brakes

Between 2017 and 2023 global battery instalment has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 58.2pc from 20GWh in 2017.

But 2024 could see a slower rate of growth as OEMs slow EV production timelines.

“Ford, GM, Renault, and VW all downsized their investments in electric vehicles or decided to postpone them,” says the SNE Research report. “It became inevitable for battery makers and battery material companies to [...] hit the brakes to slow down their plans.”

Some battery manufactures have already announced plans to slow production.