BYD’s dominance in China’s electric vehicle (EV) battery market continued to grow in March, with a 0.90 percentage point increase in market share compared to February. On the other hand, CATL’s market share fell by 2.07 percentage points during the same period.
According to data released by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA), China’s overall power battery installed capacity in March reached 56.6 GWh, marking a significant increase of 62.3 percent from February.
CATL remained the top player in the market with power battery installations totaling 23.84 GWh in March, capturing a 42.38 percent share. Despite maintaining its lead, CATL’s market share decreased from 44.45 percent in February. In contrast, BYD secured the second position with a power battery installed capacity of 13.79 GWh, representing a 24.52 percent share, up from 23.62 percent in February.
The fluctuations in battery installations for BYD were closely tied to its robust sales performance in the new energy vehicle (NEV) sector. The company reported a 24.78 percent year-on-year increase in NEV sales, totaling 377,420 units in March, a 16.90 percent increase from February.
CALB emerged as the third-largest player in the market with 2.90 GWh of power battery installations, capturing a 5.16 percent share, up from 4.83 percent in February. Gotion High-tech and Eve Energy secured the fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
In terms of battery composition, China’s lithium ternary battery installations reached 10.0 GWh in March, accounting for 17.7 percent of the total. This represented an 11.6 percent decrease from the same period last year but a 55.2 percent increase from February. Meanwhile, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries dominated the market with installations totaling 46.6 GWh, representing 82.3 percent of the total and marking a substantial increase from the previous year.
CATL, LG Energy Solution, and CALB were the top three installers of ternary batteries in March, while CATL, BYD, and Gotion led in LFP battery installations.
Furthermore, China’s production of power batteries and other battery types totaled 118.3 GWh in March, indicating a year-on-year increase of 54.3 percent and a significant rise from February. The production of ternary batteries slightly decreased year-on-year but increased from February, while LFP battery production witnessed a substantial year-on-year increase.
In terms of exports, China shipped 13.9 GWh of power batteries in March, including significant quantities of both ternary and LFP batteries.
Overall, the dynamic landscape of China’s EV battery market in March showcased the continued growth of key players like BYD and CATL, as well as the evolving trends in battery composition and production.
