From Jan to Nov in 2023, Global[1] EV Battery Usage[2] Posted 624.4GWh, a 41.8% YoY Growth
- From Jan to Nov in 2023, K-trio’s M/S recorded 23.1%
From January to September 2023, the amount of energy held by batteries for electric vehicles (EV, PHEV, HEV) registered worldwide was approximately 624.4GWh, a 41.8% YoY growth.
(Source:
2023 Dec. Global Monthly EV and Battery Monthly Tracker, SNE Research)
The combined market shares of K-trio companies were 23.1%, declined by 1.3%p compared to the same period of last year, but the overall usage of K-trio battery stayed in the growth trend. LG Energy Solution ranked 3rd with 41.8%(84.8GWh) YoY growth. While SK On took the 5th place with 13.5%(30.9GWh) growth, Samsung SDI took the 7th place with 38.4%(28.2GWh) growth.
(Source: 2023 Dec Global Monthly EV and Battery Monthly Tracker, SNE Research)
The growth trend of K-trio was
mainly affected by favorable sales of electric vehicle models equipped with
batteries of each company.
Samsung SDI continued to be in a growth trend thanks to
the increasing sales of BMW i4/i7, Audi Q8 e-Tron, and FIAT 500e in Europe as
well as decent sales of Rivian R1T/R1S and BMW iX in North America. Samsung
SDI, who has been targeting the premium EV battery market, is forecasted to maintain
its stable performance based on stable demand and high profitability with the
expansion of high-value-added battery P5 despite recent concerns about sluggish
growth in the EV market.
SK
On recorded a growth thanks to global popularity of Hyundai IONIQ 5 and KIA EV6
as well as solid sales of Ford F-150 Lightning in North America. Recently, as
it has been reported that SK On successfully reached to a decent level of
accomplishment in developing prismatic and LFP battery, which is highly sought
after in the market, it is expected to expand its market share mainly in the
North American region.
LG Energy Solution posted the highest growth among the K-trio, supported by favorable sales of Tesla Model 3/Y, VW ID. Series, and Ford Mustang Mach-E that are highly popular in Europe and North America. Although OEMs such as Tesla, Ford, and GM have been expanding their installation ratio of LFP battery and uncertainties are still high in the market due to concerns about sluggish demand, some of uncertainties are expected to be cleared off with a possible increase in the usage of Ultium Cells battery. In fact, new models such as GM’s Blazer EV are expected to launch in the market, with the Ultium platform adopted.
Panasonic, the only Japanese company in the top 10 on the list, recorded 40.3GWh, a 27.5% YoY growth. Panasonic, one of the major battery suppliers to Tesla, has most of its battery usage installed in Tesla models in the North American market. Although Tesla Model 3 saw a temporary slowdown in sales when it waited for the launch of facelift model, Tesla Model Y has led the growth of Panasonic with a YoY growth in sales.
CATL posted a 48.3%(233.4GWh) YoY growth, keeping the global top position. Particularly, CATL, who has been expanding its presence from the domestic market to overseas ones, showed a growth almost doubled from the same period of last year in every continent except China as OEMs, starting with Tesla, decided to expand the ratio of LFP battery installation for their EVs. CATL’s battery is installed in major passenger EV models in the Chinese domestic market such as GAC Group’s Aion Y and Geely’s ZEEKR 001 as well as in vehicles made by global major OEMs such as Tesla Model 3/Y, BMW iX, and Mercedes EQS. As its battery is widely used in such a variety of vehicle models, CATL is expected to continuously see a high growth.
BYD also boasted a high growth of 60.4%(98.3GWh) YoY based on its high popularity earned in the China domestic market. BYD is known for its price competitiveness through vertical SCM integration such as in-house battery supply and vehicle manufacturing. Recently, it has been rapidly expanding its market share in other regions than China mainly with its Atto 3(Yuan plus) model and Dolphine.
(Source:
2023 Dec. Global Monthly EV and Battery Monthly Tracker, SNE Research)
While the US and Europe are trying to keep the Chinese battery makers off, the K-trio decided to advance their high-Ni battery technology and announced plans of developing mid-nickel and LFP battery. The Korean battery makers’ such movements can be interpreted as their strategic effort to be in line with the increasing adoption of LFP by OEMs and the market transition to where EV prices matter more than before. In the meantime, as most of those vehicle models, that are eligible for the 2024 US IRA subsidies, have the K-trio battery installed inside, the usage of battery made by K battery makers is expected to grow again together with the growth of European and US markets.
[1] The
xEV sales of 80 countries are aggregated.
[2] Based on battery installation for xEV registered during the relevant period.