Samsung SDI tops in 2nd battery market

By Kim Yoo-chul

Samsung SDI, the battery-making affiliate of Samsung Group, has maintained the top position in the small-sized battery market for the third consecutive year, the company said Tuesday.

According to Japan-based market research firm B3, SDI’s global share in lithium-ion batteries was 26 percent last year, followed by the Panasonic Group with 18.7 percent, LG Chem with 17.5 percent and Sony with 8 percent.

SDI’s cell ― the basic unit of lithium-ion batteries ― production broke the 1 billion mark for the first time on an annual basis.

One battery cell is used per smartphone, while five or six cells are used for a notebook PC. Seo said strong sales of the Galaxy line of devices are helping SDI increase its market share.

Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone supplier, uses SDI-produced batteries for Galaxy cameras, tablets and smartphones. SDI-produced batteries are also used in Apple’s iPads and iPhones.

``We widened the market gap with Panasonic to 7.3 percentage points last year from the previous year’s 0.9 percentage points. SDI was aggressive in pricing and to expand into new applications,’’ company spokesman Seo Hae-su said.

Since 2010, the company has led the global market for lithium-ion batteries after passing Japan’s Sanyo. In 2011, Sanyo and Panasonic merged to create the Panasonic Group, in a move aimed at recovering battery-related business.

Thanks to SDI’s stellar performance in the segment, Korea shipped 1.79 billion cells last year, followed by Japan with 1.24 billion, giving Korea leadership in the market for the second straight year.

Still, Japanese companies fare better than Korean battery manufacturers in their number of related patents, while Korean companies are much better in manufacturing, output commitment and pricing.