As global EV battery consumption continues rising, the most prominent players, including CATL and BYD, continue dominating the market in 2024. CATL still owns over a third of the market, but BYD looks to close the gap with new lower-priced EVs.
CATL and BYD are still the EV battery market leaders
Through the first four months of 2024, global EV battery consumption reached 216.2 GWh. That’s up 21.8% from the 177.6 GWh last year.
CATL had the largest share by far, with 81.1 GWh installed, up 30% YOY (62.6 GWh). According to new data from South Korean research firm SNE Research, CATL accounted for 37.7% of the market through April 2024.
The EV battery giant supplies top-selling models, including the Tesla Model 3, Model Y, BMW iX, Mercedes EQ series, and Volkswagen ID series, in China.
With two new planned overseas plants, CATL looks to expand outside of China. The new factories come in addition to the six already planned in Germany, Thailand, Hungary, Indonesia, and two in the US.
Despite a slow start to 2024 due to the Chinese New Year, BYD saw solid sales growth. BYD ranked second with a 15.4% share.
BYD’s battery installations hit 33.2 GWh through April, up 18.3% from last year. The company’s market share was up from 14.3% through March.
With a series of new, low-priced vehicles hitting the market, BYD looks to close the gap throughout the year. BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull Honor Edition, starts at just $9,700 (69,800 yuan) in China.
Most recently, BYD launched its fifth-gen Dual Motor (DM) hybrid tech. BYD’s DM 5.0 has fuel consumption as low as 2.9 liters per 100 km with over 1,300 miles (2,100 km) CLTC range.
According to BYD chairman and president Wang Chuanfu, that’s three times more than traditional gas-powered vehicles.
Are South Korean battery makers falling behind?
According to the report, the top three South Korean EV battery makers represented 22.8% of the market, down 2.4% YOY.
LG Energy Solution was the largest among the three, accounting for 13% of the market. LG’s consumption was up 7.8% from last year at 28 GWh.
The growth was fueled by higher Tesla Model 3, Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and Hyundai IONIQ 6 sales in Europe and North America. The report notes that GM’s Ultium Cells is expected to lead the North American market with batteries that meet the IRA, which could help boost LG’s market share.
GM’s new electric vehicles, including the Chevy Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Silverado EV, are hitting the North American market.
Ford also kicked off production of the electric Explorer this week in Europe based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform.
Meanwhile, Samsung SDI saw the highest growth rate at 32.9%, installing 10.9 GWh through April. Samsung placed fourth with a 5.1% share.
Samsung’s growth was boosted by higher BMW i4, i5, iX, and Rivian R1T and R1S sales.
Korea’s SK On was fifth with 4.8% of the market, with 10.3 GWh installed, down 2% from last year.
With the refreshed Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6, equipped with SK’s fourth-gen batteries rolling out, sales are expected to recover.
The only Japanese automaker to make the top ten, Panasonic placed sixth with 10.2 GWh, down 29.5% YOY. Panasonic held 4.7% market share.
CALB (4.3%), Eve Energy (2.3%), Gotion (2.2%), and Sunwoda (2.0%) rounded out the top ten EV battery makers through April 2024.
