Korean EV battery makers' global market share shrinks in 2022

A plant of Chinese battery maker CATL is seen, in Arnstadt, Germany, Jan. 26. Reuters-Yonhap

Three Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery makers saw their global market share decline in 2022 from a year earlier amid robust growth of Chinese rivals, industry data showed Wednesday.

The trio ― LG Energy Solution, SK Innovation and Samsung SDI ― held a combined 23.7 percent of the global EV battery market at 517.9 gigawatt hours last year, down 6.5 percentage points from 2021, according to the data from market researcher SNE Research.

The global total was up 71.8 percent from the previous year.

The market portion of LG Energy Solution slipped to 13.6 percent from 19.7 percent during the period, retaining the No. 2 spot. LG Energy Solution counts Tesla, Volkswagen and Audi as its clients.

SK On, the battery-making subsidiary of SK Innovation, suffered a 0.3-percentage-point decline to 5.4 percent, ranking fifth in the world.

Samsung SDI, which supplies batteries for the BMW iX and Fiat 500, saw its market share inch down to 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent, placing sixth.

The drop in the Korean firms' market share contrasted with the jump by Chinese firms, including top player CATL whose share soared to 37 percent from 33 percent over the cited period.

CATL and six other Chinese players, which ranked among the global top 10, altogether accounted for 60.4 percent of the global market share, up from 48.2 percent a year ago.

Chinese EV battery makers have been leading the world market thanks to strong domestic demand and Beijing's policy support.

SNE Research predicted Chinese EV battery firms, which have been shifting their focus to the world market from the domestic front, to engage in fiercer competition with Korean rivals to clinch a bigger slice of the global pie down the road. (Yonhap)