South Korea’s three main electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers saw their global market shares decline in the first ten months of 2024, according to data released by local market research company SNE Research, reflecting slow EV growth in key markets such as Europe, North America, and even South Korea.
SNE estimates that total batteries fitted to new battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) sold globally increased by over 25% to 687 GWh in the ten-month period, with most of the growth coming from Chinese automakers.
According to SNE’s research, China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL) continued to lead the global EV battery market, with sales surging by over 28% to 253 GWh so far this year, as the company continued to benefit from strong growth in global sales of Chinese-made EVs. The company is estimated to have accounted for 37% of global EV battery sales year-to-date.
SNE estimates that BYD, with its FinDreams Battery Company Ltd subsidiary, was the second-largest global supplier of EV batteries in this period, with deliveries rising by 31% to 115 GWh. This was driven in large part by strong internal demand, with BYD Auto reporting a 40% jump in global NEV sales to 3.76 million units in the first eleven months of 2024.
LG Energy Solution, South Korea’s largest EV battery manufacturer, saw EV fitment of its batteries rise by just 6.4% to just over 82 GWh, making it the third-largest global supplier with a market share of around 12%. Panasonic came in fourth, with a market share of between 6-7%.
SK On was South Korea’s second-largest EV battery manufacturer, with global deliveries growing by 9.5% to 31 GWh, followed by Samsung SDI with just 2% growth to 26 GWh in the ten-month period.
South Korea’s EV battery manufacturers have invested heavily in establishing a strong presence in the North American EV battery industry and are increasingly concerned about the growth prospects for this market, given the expectation that President-elect Donald Trump will withdraw federal EV tax purchasing incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act and the production tax credit (AMPC). EV demand in Europe has also slowed following the withdrawal of subsidies in some key markets.
