Global Electric Vehicle (EV) battery sales surged by an impressive 54 percent in the first half of this year, surpassing 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh), according to Counterpoint Research.
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL emerged as the leader in the EV battery market, followed by BYD and LG Energy Solutions, albeit at a considerable distance.
Chinese battery suppliers maintained their dominant position in the EV battery market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total market share. Notably, companies like Tesla, BYD, and Volkswagen collectively installed nearly 45 percent of all EV batteries in the first half of 2023, as reported by Counterpoint Research. This period also witnessed a substantial 43 percent year-on-year growth in global EV sales.
Over the next few years, numerous new battery suppliers, such as ACC, Verkor, Northvolt, and E4V, are expected to secure a substantial presence within the battery supply chain.
Automakers like Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis are developing in-house cell and pack manufacturing capabilities, which will intensify competition in the battery supply chain. Currently, Chinese and South Korean suppliers dominate this industry.
Chinese companies, including CATL, BYD, CALB, Gotion, Sunwoda, and Farasis, collectively held a commanding two-thirds of the market, while the three major South Korean players — LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK Innovation — accounted for approximately 25 percent of the market share.
CATL’s and LG Energy Solutions’ remarkable growth has been driven by the surging sales of Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y. CATL supplies batteries for the standard versions of these Tesla models produced at the company’s Shanghai factory, while LG Energy Solutions serves as the primary battery supplier for the performance versions of the Model 3 and Model Y.
Other automakers like Hyundai, Kia, and Ford have also actively contributed to the market share growth of battery supplier SK Innovation. Meanwhile, Rivian and BMW predominantly rely on Samsung SDI as their battery supplier.
“In H1 2023, the average battery capacity of EVs stood at 50kWh. Consequently, we expect that the total EV-driven battery demand will reach 4TWh in 2030,” said research vice president Peter Richardson.
The rising demand for batteries, coupled with geopolitical tensions, is putting upward pressure on the prices of lithium, a primary component of EV batteries. As an alternative, battery suppliers are exploring different chemistries like sodium-ion (NA-ion) to reduce battery costs and make EVs more affordable. CATL has already made significant strides in sodium-ion battery chemistry, and mass adoption of such batteries is expected in the near future.