Chinese battery suppliers dominated global market with a combined 73.3% share among the top 10 companies.
On March 6, South Korean market research firm SNE Research released its Global EV Battery Installation Report for January 2026.
The data show that global power battery installations for electric vehicles — including EVs, PHEVs and HEVs — reached about 71.9 GWh in January, up 10.7% year-on-year.
However, compared with 141 GWh recorded in December last year, the figure declined roughly 49% month-on-month.
This primarily arises from the seasonal slowdown in vehicle demand at the start of the year and inventory adjustments in some markets.
From a supplier perspective, Chinese battery manufacturers continued to dominate the market.
Among the world’s top 10 battery suppliers by installations, six are Chinese companies, with a combined installed capacity of 52.7 GWh, up 20% YoY and accounting for 73.3% of the global market.
Among them, China’s two largest players, CATL and BYD, retained the top two positions globally, with combined installations reaching 42.4 GWh and a combined market share of 59%.
Specifically, CATL ranked first with installed capacity of 32.5 GWh, representing a 25.7% increase from 25.9 GWh in the same period last year.
The company maintained its global lead with a 45.2% market share, up from 39.9% a year earlier.
While continuing to focus primarily on lithium-ion battery products, CATL is also advancing the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries.
At the end of January, CATL’s sodium battery brand “Naxtra” began public winter testing in passenger vehicles.
Test models include vehicles from Changan Oshan, while models from GAC and JAC are also expected to join the testing program later.
BYD ranked second globally with installed capacity of 9.9 GWh. However, the figure declined slightly by 1.9% YoY, with its market share at 13.8%, down from 15.6% in the same period last year.
Leveraging its vertically integrated model combining battery production and vehicle manufacturing, BYD has continued expanding in overseas markets.
The latest data show that in February, BYD sold 100,151 new energy passenger vehicles overseas, accounting for 52.6% of its total monthly sales, marking the first time its monthly overseas sales exceeded China’s deliveries.
Other Chinese battery manufacturers also continued gaining ground.
CALB ranked third globally with installations of 3.8 GWh, representing YoY growth of 51.5%, making it the fastest-growing company among the top ten suppliers.
Gotion, EVE and SVOLT ranked sixth, eighth and ninth respectively, with installations of 2.8 GWh, 1.9 GWh and 1.8 GWh, representing YoY increases of 13.4%, 16.3% and 1.8%.
In contrast, the market share of South Korea’s three major battery manufacturers declined significantly.
The combined share of LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI fell from 16.3% in the same period of 2025 to 12% in January this year.
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