Korean battery makers take charge in global EV market outperforming rivals
Man-Su Choe
Sep 01, 2020 (Gmt+09:00)
South Korean battery makers LG Chem Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., and SK Innovation Co. are steaming ahead in the global electric vehicle market pulling in a combined 35.6% market share, while industry peers lag behind.
LG Chem maintained its position as the industry frontrunner accounting for 2.8GWh of the total 10.5GWh global EV battery use in August, according to market research firm SNE Research on September 1. A single GWh can charge 20,000 EV units.
The chemical arm of LG Group also remained in the lead in the January to July period, securing 25% market share in global EV battery usage. Samsung SDI came in fourth and SK Innovation came in sixth with market shares of 6.4% and 4.1%, respectively.
The three companies' combined market share in the global EV market more than doubled from 15.9% in 2019. The domestic EV trio is making massive inroads with one of every three EVs on the market running on a Korean battery.
Meanwhile, industry competitors, including China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL), and Japan’s Panasonic saw their footings weaken. CATL came in second followed by Panasonic in third, posting market shares of 23.8% and 18.9%, respectively. But their cumulative battery use dropped significantly by 25.5% for CATL, and 30.9% for Panasonic.