As the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) market experienced a sharp decline in January, all South Korean battery companies with major operations in the U.S. recorded negative growth. South Korean batteries' global market share fell to 12%.
According to the latest data released by battery market research firm SNE Research, the total battery usage of registered electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and hybrid vehicles worldwide reached 71.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in January this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%.
During this period, the combined market share of South Korea's three major battery manufacturers — LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI — dropped 4.3 percentage points year-on-year to 12.0%. LG Energy Solution's share fell from 15.6% to 13.8%, while SK On (from 4.5% to 3.2%) and Samsung SDI (from 3.2% to 2.2%) also saw declines.
In January this year, all three South Korean battery companies recorded significant declines: LG Energy Solution's supply volume dropped by 1.9 percentage points, SK On by 21.3%, and Samsung SDI by 24.4%.
SNE Research analyzed, "The 30.2% plummet in U.S. EV sales is the main factor." In the United States, demand dropped sharply after the cancellation of EV purchase subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) at the end of September last year.
Unlike South Korea's three major battery companies, Japan's Panasonic saw its supply volume increase by 22%, with its market share expanding from 3.9% to 4.3%. Panasonic is streamlining its North American production lines to reduce reliance on Tesla and continues to discuss new partnerships with North American automakers.
In the same period, China's CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited) recorded a 25.7% growth in battery installations, with its market share expanding to 45.2%. CATL has expanded its customer base by supplying batteries to major Chinese EV manufacturers as well as various global automakers such as Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.
With the significant increase in battery installations in China, Europe and other emerging markets, the trend of expanding average battery capacity among Chinese battery manufacturers also seems to have promoted the rise in market share.
SNE Research commented, "In 2025, price-driven sales expansion became the core driver of the market. While this trend will continue in 2026, as regional policies, regulations and trade environments strengthen simultaneously, the market is likely to enter a phase of seeking balance between price competitiveness, product value and supply chain stability, gradually moving away from the simple low-cost expansion model."
(Reprinted from https://news.eccn.com/）