Traditional engine suppliers are losing their importance in the e-car sector. Battery manufacturers are becoming important. The ranking shows a forecast for the year 2023.
Almost all carmakers have announced new models with electric drives for the coming years. Mainly volkswagen, but also Daimler, BMW, Audi and Co. each aiming to build several hundred thousand electric cars per year. Chinese manufacturers and also the U.S. electric specialist tesla are meanwhile already producing diligently.
They all need batteries. E-cars are on their way to the mass market. Their most important component, the battery, is becoming a scarce commodity. For a long time, the battery manufacturers had to advertise their prices to the carmakers in order to get a contract at all.
How powerful are the battery manufacturers??
But the greater the demand for e-cars, the more power these suppliers will have. What stands out: the most important suppliers of batteries for electric cars come from asia. A threat to the german automotive industry?
Once small suppliers have grown into global corporations. A handful of companies already dominate the market today. The top dogs are CATL and LG chem. The market is also being penetrated by the rapidly growing producers SK innovation from South Korea and lishen and BYD from China. In the future, the German automotive industry will not be able to ignore these companies.
How many battery factories are under construction?
There are currently more than 40 large lithium-ion cell factories under construction worldwide – almost all of them in asia. One of the companies currently expanding at the fastest rate is based in the Chinese province of Fujian. Here is the battery cell manufacturer contemporary amperex technology ltd. (CATL) has advanced to the upper ranks of the highly competitive market after only a few years.
the statista portal has compiled the findings of roland berger’s study in the following ranking.
Image gallery: forecast of market share of battery cell production for e-cars by manufacturer worldwide in 2023
7th place: panasonic operates its own cell production facility at elon musk’s gigafactory in nevada, u.s.a., and for a time was the world’s largest battery manufacturer for electric cars. Compared with the 2015 ranking (see below) – in which panasonic was still far ahead – the company has lost significant market share and, according to the forecast for 2023, will only account for three percent. – picture: panasonic
The farasis company originates from china, but operates a research center in hayward, california. In 2023, the company is expected to produce four percent of the world’s batteries. In the ranking they are therefore on place 6. Farasis currently produces in china, but wants to set up production in europe in the coming years. The photo shows NCM-based lithium-ion pouch cells, which are mainly supplied to the Chinese automotive market. – picture: farasis
5th place: samsung SDI is from south Korea. In addition to batteries for electric cars, the company also produces accumulators and monitors. For 2023, the study expects samsung SDI to produce batteries with a market share of five percent worldwide. The batteries are not only produced in South Korea and China, but since 2018 also in a converted former television factory in god, Hungary. This is to ensure the supply of the European market. – Image: samsung SDI
Tesla, of course, must not be left out. Because elon musk’s company is not only a carmaker, but also a battery producer. Batteries are also to be produced at the Tesla plant in grunheide in addition to cars. In total, the study sees tesla in third place with a six percent global market share of battery production, together with. – image: tesla
. BYD (build your dreams), also with a six percent market share. Just like Tesla, the Chinese conglomerate is a carmaker (also for trucks, buses and forklifts) and battery producer. – image: BYD
2nd place: the South Korean chemical company LG chem also produces batteries for electric cars. in 2014, the company signed an agreement with siemens to work together on battery development (see photo). Since then, however, nothing more has been heard about the results of the cooperation. the study sees LG chem with a market share of 13 percent of batteries produced worldwide in 2023. To serve the european market, LG chem also has a production facility in poland. – image: LG chem
In first place and currently unstoppable is the largest Chinese battery manufacturer for electric cars, CATL, based in ningde. this company name is also just an abbreviation and stands for ‘contemporary amperex technology co. Limited’. The company also produces in germany, in a factory near erfurt. The forecast is: 17 percent market share in 2023. – Image: CATL