CATL Continues to Dominate 40.7 Percent of Global EV Battery Market Share in the First Quarter of 2026

JAKARTA - The global electric vehicle (EV) battery market in the first quarter of 2026 still shows a strong dominance of Chinese companies, where CATL is further strengthening its position at the top of the standings.

Based on the latest data from SNE Research released on Wednesday, May 6, as reported by CNEVPost, the total use of the world's EV battery reached 244.6 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from January to March, recording a growth of 9.1 percent compared to the same period last year. In this increasingly fierce competition, CATL managed to capture 40.7 percent of the global market share with a total installation of 99.5 GWh. This figure shows a significant increase from the previous year which was at the level of 38.5 percent, an achievement driven by the soaring sales of vehicles from their major clients such as Seres, Nio, and Li Auto.

Meanwhile, BYD still holds second place globally despite facing a tough challenge earlier this year. BYD's market share was recorded at 13.7 percent in the first quarter, down from 16.2 percent in the same period in 2026. This decline was triggered by the decline in sales of BYD-branded vehicles in the Chinese domestic market, which led to a total of 33.5 GWh of battery installations. However, BYD's position is beginning to show signs of recovery compared to January-February data, which was helped by the start of the supply of their batteries to new clients such as Xiaomi.

On the other hand, the South Korean battery manufacturer is experiencing great pressure due to slowing demand in the United States market which has declined by 28.4 percent. LG Energy Solution is still able to survive in third place with a market share of 9.7 percent, but the other two South Korean manufacturers, namely SK On and Samsung SDI, recorded a fairly sharp decline in battery usage. In fact, Samsung SDI was thrown out of the top ten list after experiencing a 27.7 percent decline in usage. Collectively, the combined market share of the three South Korean giants shrank to 15.6 percent, in contrast to the aggressiveness of other Chinese manufacturers such as CALB, Gotion High-tech, Eve Energy, Svolt, and Sunwoda which continue to climb and dominate the rest of the world's top ten list.

In sixth place, Panasonic is the only remaining Japanese representative on the top board with a market share of 3.7 percent.