Korean battery makers’ global market share shrinks 6.5%p in 2022

[Image sources: LGES, SK on, Samsung SDI]

South Korea’s top three electric vehicle (EV) battery makers are losing ground to Chinese rivals, with LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES) barely retaining its position as the world’s second-largest supplier last year.

According to data from energy market tracker SNE Research on Wednesday, the combined market share of LGES, SK on Co., and Samsung SDI Co. was 23.7 percent in 2022, down 6.5 percentage points from 30.2 percent in 2021.

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) retained the top position in 2022 with a market share of 37 percent, followed jointly by LGES and China’s BYD Co. with 13.6 percent.

LGES had yielded its No. 2 position to BYD in the first 11 months of last year but it managed to keep the position in the year.

In 2021, LGES was the second-largest EV battery player with 19.7 percent market share while BYD the fourth-largest with 8.7 percent. LGES’s share dipped 6.1 percentage points over one year while that of BYD rose 4.9 percentage points.

Japan’s Panasonic, SK on, and Samsung SDI followed the top three makers, with a share of 7.3 percent, 5.4 percent, and 4.7 percent each in 2022. Panasonic’s share fell 4.7 percentage points last year from a year ago, SK on 0.3 percentage point, and Samsung SDI 0.1 percentage point.

Many Chinese battery makers showed triple-digit growth in EV battery usage in 2022. CATL saw a 92.5 percent increase in EV battery installation to record 191.6 gigawatt hours (GWh) and BYD 167.1 percent to 70.4GWh.