China's CATL continues to dominate the global electric vehicle battery market. Having primarily supplied the domestic market and Tesla in the U.S., CATL is expanding its position as a battery supplier that covers the entire lineup of global automakers, from affordable to luxury models.
The 'The Kia EV5,' launched by Kia on the 3rd in the domestic market, features a battery made by CATL. Unlike the China-specific model equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, it utilizes a nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery. The NCM battery is where domestic battery manufacturers have competitive advantages, but Kia chose CATL's high-nickel battery instead.
Kia explained that this decision was part of a strategy to diversify its supply chain. In order to ensure stable supply, they reviewed not only the three domestic firms (LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI) but also global battery manufacturers, and selected CATL after comprehensively evaluating their product qualities.
Shin Seung-hoon, a lead researcher at Kia's MSV Project 5 team, noted, 'While the three domestic companies indeed possess excellent technology, it is difficult to rely solely on them for all the volume needed while advancing electrification. We are selecting batteries based on a comprehensive verification of price, quality, and supply stability, tailored to each model's launch timing.'
The number of electric vehicle models equipped with CATL batteries in the domestic market is increasing. The Hyundai Motor Group has applied CATL batteries mainly in smaller models, with the Hyundai Kona Electric (NCM), Kia Ray EV (LFP), and Niro EV (NCM) being notable examples. CATL's NCM battery was also used in Kia's first purpose-built vehicle (PBV), the PV5, launched in June.
CATL's client base, which centered around local Chinese companies, Tesla, and BMW, is expanding to include global automakers. For affordable electric vehicles, CATL offers cost-effective LFP batteries, while for high-end luxury electric vehicles, they provide high-performance NCM batteries.
In recent years, CATL has grown in influence within the luxury electric vehicle market. Porsche equipped its electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) Macan Electric with CATL's NCM battery. Maserati's first electric SUV Grecale Folgore and the British sports car brand Lotus also feature CATL NCM batteries in models like the Eletre and Emeya.
Industry experts believe that as CATL simultaneously increases its large-scale production capabilities and technological prowess, its dominance in the global automotive market is likely to grow. The three domestic battery companies are also responding with advanced technologies and local strategies in North America and Europe, but narrowing the market share gap with CATL in the short term poses significant challenges.
According to market research firm SNE Research, the global electric vehicle battery usage from January to July this year totaled 590.7 GWh, a 35.3% increase from the same period last year. Of this, the usage of CATL batteries reached 221.4 GWh, a 34% increase from a year earlier, securing the top market share at 37.5%.
During the same period, the combined market share of LG Energy Solution (3rd; 9.5%), SK On (5th; 4.2%), and Samsung SDI (8th; 3.0%) fell by 4.4 percentage points to 16.7%.