Chinese Battery Makers Take 56.4% of Market Outside China

Chinese battery makers now supply more than half of the battery capacity fitted to electric and hybrid cars sold outside China. Six Chinese companies (CATL, BYD, Gotion High-Tech, Svolt, CALB, and Eve Energy) held a combined 56.4% share of that market from January to September 2026, up from 43.1% a year earlier, according to South Korean research firm SNE Research.

The figures cover battery electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and conventional hybrids. Battery installations in vehicles sold outside China reached about 426.7 GWh in the nine months, up 24.7% from a year earlier. That is faster than the worldwide market, which grew 19.7% to 994.5 GWh.

CATL remained the largest supplier outside China with 143.7 GWh, an increase of 46.7%. Its share rose from 28.6% to 33.7%. Much of that growth came from Europe, where its installations rose 35.4% to 96.8 GWh, while its volume in Asia outside China more than doubled to 27.1 GWh. The first two battery cell lines at CATL's new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, entered trial production in September, which is expected to strengthen its local supply to European carmakers.

BYD placed third with 45.9 GWh, up 66.8%, taking its share to 10.8% from 8.0%. Unlike CATL, BYD mainly supplies its own vehicles, so its battery growth follows its car exports. The company sold about 1,80,000 vehicles outside China in September alone, more than double the figure a year earlier. Smaller Chinese suppliers grew even faster from a lower base, with Eve Energy, Gotion High-Tech, and Svolt each more than doubling their volumes outside China.

South Korea's three main battery makers moved the other way. LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI installed a combined 113.0 GWh, down 13.5%, and their share fell from 38.2% to 26.5%. LG Energy Solution kept second place with 69.8 GWh, but its North American volume dropped 44.9%. SK On fell 17.9% to 28.2 GWh, and Samsung SDI fell 34.4% to 15.0 GWh, the steepest decline among the top ten.

SNE Research said the Korean decline was concentrated in North America, where the three companies' combined volume roughly halved to 28.1 GWh. Electric car demand there has weakened since tax credits ended, and the Korean companies are now shifting part of their North American production to batteries for energy storage. Japan's Panasonic, whose volume comes mainly from Tesla models in North America, placed fourth with 35.6 GWh, down 0.8%.

Including China, Chinese companies are even further ahead. They held seven of the top ten places worldwide and a combined 73.0% share, up from 69.5% a year earlier. CATL led the global ranking with 389.2 GWh and a 39.1% share, followed by BYD with 150.9 GWh and 15.2%. LG Energy Solution was the largest non-Chinese supplier, in third place with 81.9 GWh and 8.2%.

Most electric cars imported into Nepal come from China. The new figures show that Chinese battery suppliers are also winning a growing share of the market in other parts of the world, not only at home.