[Edaily Reporter JAEMIN SONG ] While the global electric vehicle battery market continued to post double-digit growth, the combined market share of South Korea’s three major battery manufacturers fell to the 12% range. As the North American EV market contracted, Chinese companies expanded their overseas supply by leveraging the price competitiveness of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, further strengthening their market dominance.

According to market research firm SNE Research on the 2nd, the battery capacity installed in electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids registered worldwide from January through August of this year totaled 844.2 gigawatt-hours (GWh), a 19.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

In August alone, battery usage totaled 116.8 GWh, a 14.3% increase from the same month last year. However, the growth rate slowed compared to July’s 23.3%, and the cumulative growth rate also fell below 20%.

China’s CATL maintained its top position with 333.0 GWh, a 25.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Its market share also rose by 1.7 percentage points, from 37.7% to 39.4%. BYD, ranked second, saw its usage rise by 6.2% to 127.9 GWh, but as this growth fell short of the market average, its market share declined from 17.1% to 15.1%.

The combined market share of the top seven Chinese companies, including CATL and BYD, rose by 3.6 percentage points from 69.7% in the same period last year to 73.3% this year. CALB’s usage increased by 32.6%, Gotion’s by 47.1%, EVE’s by 53.9%, and SVOLT’s by 39.3%. REPT grew by 126.3%, recording the highest growth rate among the top 10 companies.

In contrast, the combined market share of the three South Korean companies—LG Energy Solution, SK On, and SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD.—fell by 3.9 percentage points from 16.6% to 12.7% over the same period.

LG Energy Solution maintained its third-place ranking with battery usage of 68.3 GWh, a 0.9% increase from the same period last year. Although it continued to supply batteries to Tesla, General Motors (GM), HyundaiMotor Group, and Volkswagen, its growth fell significantly short of the market’s overall growth rate. Consequently, its market share dropped by 1.5 percentage points, from 9.6% to 8.1%.

While usage increased in Asia (excluding Europe and China), a 42.3% decline in North American usage—from 25.2 GWh to 14.6 GWh—largely offset the gains in other regions.

SK On ranked eighth with 24.9 GWh, a 14.5% decrease from the same period last year. Its market share also fell by 1.2 percentage points, from 4.1% to 2.9%. Although the company supplies products to HyundaiMotor Group, Ford, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz, the 41.8% decline in North American usage had a significant impact. SAMSUNG SDI CO.,LTD. remained outside the top 10.

By region, battery usage in China rose by 16.9%, while in Europe it increased by 29.2%. Asia (excluding China) and South America grew by 76.0% and 179.9%, respectively. In contrast, North America saw a 23.7% decline to 73.1 GWh, marking the only region among the major markets to experience negative growth.

By battery material, the share of LFP rose by 5.1 percentage points, from 52.2% last year to 57.3% this year. The battery capacity per electric vehicle also increased by 11.9%, from 35.1 kilowatt-hours (kWh) to 39.2 kWh, supporting the overall growth in battery usage.