CATL cements its position as the undisputed leader of the global battery market

The global battery market for electric and hybrid vehicles recorded growth of 20 percent in the first half of 2026. According to the latest analysis from South Korean firm SNE Research, global demand for battery cells reached 608.5 GWh in that period.

This pace, however, moderated compared with 2025 as a whole, when demand expanded by 31.7 percent. The study counts the cells used in fully electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids.

In the first half of the year, CATL consolidated its leadership. The Chinese manufacturer delivered 242.7 GWh of cells over these six months, 25.3 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. Thanks to this advance, its global market share rose from 38.2 to 39.9 percent, coming close to 40 percent.

BYD and LGES are following closely but far behind

In second place remained BYD, with 87.7 GWh delivered. Its growth was much more moderate, just 1.6 percent year on year, which allowed it to reach a market share of 14.4 percent. Together, CATL and BYD accounted for 54.3 percent of the global battery market for electric and hybrid vehicles.

The third place, completing the global podium, went to LG Energy Solution, the best-positioned South Korean manufacturer. The company supplied 52.6 GWh, 8.4 percent more than in the same period of the previous year. Despite the increase in volume, its market share fell from 9.6 to 8.6 percent.

The ranking of the top ten battery suppliers for electric vehicles in the first half of 2026 reflects a clear Chinese predominance: seven of the companies listed -CATL, BYD, CALB, Gotion, EVE, SVOLT and Sunwoda- are from this Asian country. Completing the top 10 are South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and SK On, along with Japan’s Panasonic. As expected, no European or North American company appears on that list.