H1 Global Electric Vehicle Battery Installations: Chinese Companies Account for Over 68%, Korean Firms Under Pressure, Panasonic Recovers

Recently, data released by the Korean market research institute SNE Research showed that in the first half of 2025, the global installed capacity of electric vehicle batteries (including battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, and hybrid vehicles) reached 504.4 GWh, a 37.3% increase compared to 367.4 GWh in the same period last year.

H1 Global Electric Vehicle Battery Installed Capacity: CATLMarket share approaching 40%，Gotion High-tech

In the first half of this year, a total of six Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturers ranked among the top ten global electric vehicle battery installation volume list.

CATL remains firmly at the top, with its battery installation volume increasing by 37.9% year-on-year to 190.9 GWh, though the growth rate has slowed compared to the 40.6% seen in the first five months of this year. Its market share reached 37.9%, up 0.2 percentage points year-on-year. In addition to Chinese automotive brands such as Zeekr, AITO, Li Auto, and Xiaomi, global mainstream car manufacturers including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen Group also widely adopt CATL’s batteries.

As the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, BYD's battery installation volume increased by 58.4% year-on-year to 89.9 GWh, with its market share rising from 15.4% to 17.8% compared to the same period last year, maintaining its second position. The year-on-year growth rate has also accelerated compared to the first five months of this year (57.1%). BYD produces both batteries and electric vehicles (including pure electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles). With its strong vertical integration capabilities and the resulting price competitiveness, BYD has launched several electric vehicles that have been well-received by the market. Currently, BYD is continually consolidating its position in the global market, with particularly notable expansion in the European market. In the first quarter of this year, BYD's battery installation volume in Europe reached 6.0 GWh, skyrocketing by 313.4% year-on-year.

The other four Chinese battery manufacturers also continued to maintain strong growth momentum, though there were some changes in their rankings. CALB’s battery installed capacity increased by 22.7% year-on-year to 21.8 GWh, remaining in fourth place. Gotion’s battery installed capacity reached 17.9 GWh, surging by 85.2% year-on-year, but its ranking dropped from sixth to seventh. EVE’s battery installed capacity soared by 65.9% year-on-year to 13.6 GWh, staying in ninth place. Closely following is SVOLT, whose battery installed capacity reached 12.9 GWh, a sharp increase of 107.7% year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing battery manufacturer on the list.

The combined battery installation volume of South Korea’s “Big Three” battery manufacturers—LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI—accounted for 16.4% of the global total in the first half of this year, down 5.4 percentage points year-on-year. Among them, LG Energy Solution’s battery installation volume still increased by 4.4% year-on-year to 47.2 GWh, ranking third globally, but its market share fell from 12.3% in the same period last year to 9.4%. SK On’s battery installation volume also grew by 10.7% year-on-year to 19.6 GWh, ranking fifth, but its market share also declined, dropping from 4.8% last year to 3.9%. In contrast, Samsung SDI continued its previous downward trend, with its battery installation volume falling by 8.0% year-on-year to 16.0 GWh. Its market share also slipped from 4.7% to 3.2% year-on-year. Notably, Samsung SDI was the only battery manufacturer among the global top ten in electric vehicle battery installations in the first half of this year to see a decline in installation volume, and its ranking dropped from seventh to eighth.

From the perspective of specific supporting vehicle models, Samsung SDI’s batteries are mainly used in brands such as BMW, Audi, and Rivian. Among them, major BMW electric models including the i4, i5, i7, and iX are all equipped with Samsung SDI batteries. However, the sales of BMW’s best-selling i4 declined in the first half of this year, resulting in a 5.0% year-on-year decrease in the battery installation volume supplied by Samsung SDI to BMW. Although the sales of Rivian R1S and R1T in the U.S. remained stable during the same period, the newly launched standard-range version models are equipped with Gotion High-Tech’s lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which has also led to a decrease in Samsung SDI’s battery supply share for Rivian. However, with the launch of Audi’s Q6 e-Tron based on the PPE platform, Samsung SDI’s battery installation volume for Audi increased by 8.8% year on year.

SK On mainly supplies batteries to Hyundai Motor Group, Mercedes-Benz, Ford Motor Company, and Volkswagen Group. In the first half of this year, the sales of Hyundai Motor Group's IONIQ 5 and EV6 models gradually recovered after facelifts, and the stable sales of Volkswagen's ID.4 and ID.7 also contributed to the growth of SK On's battery installations. However, the sales of Ford F-150 Lightning equipped with large-capacity batteries slowed down, resulting in a 13.4% year-on-year decline in the battery installations supplied by SK On to Ford.

LG Energy Solution’s batteries are primarily used in vehicles from brands such as Tesla, Chevrolet, Kia, and Volkswagen. In the first half of this year, sales of Tesla models equipped with LG Energy Solution batteries declined, resulting in a 28.9% year-on-year decrease in the volume of LG batteries installed in Teslas. However, the strong global sales of the Kia EV3, as well as the growth in sales of the Chevrolet Equinox, Blazer, and Silverado EV—built on General Motors’ Ultium platform—in the North American market, have become the main drivers behind the increase in LG Energy Solution battery installations.

In addition, among the top ten global electric vehicle battery installation volumes in the first half of this year, Panasonic, which mainly supplies batteries to Tesla, was the only Japanese company on the list. It is worth noting that Panasonic, whose battery installation volume had previously declined, achieved a year-on-year increase of 14.4% with an installation volume of 18.8 GWh in the first half of this year, ending its previous downward trend. Its ranking also rose from eighth to sixth.

In response to the U.S. policy of imposing additional tariffs on Chinese batteries and raw materials, Panasonic is accelerating the restructuring of its supply chain. Specific measures include reducing reliance on Chinese materials, expanding local material procurement, and exploring new sources of materials to improve the stability of battery production. These initiatives are expected to lay an important foundation for the recovery of Panasonic's battery installation volume in the future and for maintaining its market share in North America.

Competition between Chinese and foreign battery manufacturers: ChinaThe market share is approaching 70%.，South Korea further shrinks.Panasonicpicked up somewhat

From 2017 to 2024, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of global electric vehicle battery capacity installations is 47.5%, highlighting the continued growth trend of the global electric vehicle market. This trend continues into 2025.

Relying on the world’s largest electric vehicle market, China’s two major electric vehicle battery giants, CATL and BYD, continued to increase their market share in the first half of this year, together accounting for 55.7% of the global electric vehicle battery market. This represents a 0.2 percentage point increase compared to the first five months of this year, and a 2.6 percentage point rise compared to 53.1% in the same period last year. Although CALB’s market share declined from 4.8% in the same period last year to 4.3%, it still grew by 0.1 percentage points compared to the first five months of this year. The market shares of Gotion High-tech, EVE Energy, and SVOLT Energy increased by 1 percentage point, 0.5 percentage points, and 0.9 percentage points year-on-year, respectively, bringing the total market share of these three listed Chinese battery manufacturers to 8.8%, up 0.1 percentage points compared to the first five months of this year. Overall, in the first half of this year, Chinese electric vehicle battery manufacturers held a total global market share of 68.8%, a 0.3 percentage point increase from 68.5% in the first five months of this year.

In comparison, in the first half of this year, the combined market share of South Korea’s three major battery manufacturers further shrank from 21.9% in the same period last year and 17.4% in the first five months of this year to 16.4%. The gap between Chinese and Korean battery manufacturers continues to widen. Meanwhile, although the market share of Japanese battery manufacturer Panasonic (3.7%) declined by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year, it increased from 2.9% in the first five months of this year.

From the above data, the competitive landscape of the global electric vehicle battery market in the first half of 2025 has become increasingly clear: Chinese manufacturers, leveraging their domestic market advantages and technological innovation, continue to consolidate their global leading position. The steady rise in their total market share highlights their core competitiveness within the industry chain. Korean manufacturers' market share continues to shrink, with the gap between them and Chinese manufacturers widening, facing greater pressure for transformation and breakthroughs. Meanwhile, although Panasonic of Japan still experienced a year-on-year decline, its quarter-on-quarter rebound also reflects its resilience.

In the first half of 2025, the competitive landscape among global electric vehicle battery manufacturers—characterized by China consolidating its lead, South Korea facing pressure and contraction, and Japan showing resilience—is not an isolated market phenomenon. Rather, it is closely linked to the dynamic adjustments in the global battery industry environment. Changes in the market share of manufacturers from different countries not only reflect their intrinsic strengths, such as the pace of technological iteration and the foundation in their domestic markets, but are also beginning to be influenced by the initial effects of adjustments in the global battery industry chain layout.

The global battery market is currently undergoing a rapid restructuring of the supply chain and tightening regulations, especially in the United States and Europe.

In the United States, the OBBBA (Outsized and Beautiful Bill Act) has significantly reduced the clean energy tax incentives previously granted under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

It is reported that the bill also introduced the "Foreign Entity of Concern" (FEOC) rule, which limits the tax credit eligibility for batteries and raw materials associated with certain countries, particularly China. This has triggered profound ripple effects in the electric vehicle and battery industries.

In response, Korean battery manufacturers are implementing mid- to long-term strategies, such as increasing local production capacity in North America, reducing dependence on Chinese raw materials, and strengthening non-Chinese supply chains. These measures are not only active responses to the IRA and Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (AMPC), but also strategies to cope with an increasingly stringent regulatory environment.

At the same time, Europe is intensifying efforts to ensure supply chain resilience through local production incentives and strategic reserve plans. Chinese battery companies are also accelerating the construction of local factories in Europe, aiming to rapidly change the competitive landscape.

Under the dual pressures of heightened geopolitical risks and strengthened supply chain controls, battery manufacturers are facing a critical turning point: they not only need to possess exceptional technology, but also require independence in raw material sourcing and the ability to maintain strategic flexibility in the global market.