Global EV battery installations reached 844.2 GWh in January through August, up 19.7% year-on-year, according to data released Friday by South Korean market research firm SNE Research. CATL and BYD alone accounted for 460.9 GWh of that volume — a 54.6% combined share of the world market.

The figures cover battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids. August installations alone totaled 116.8 GWh, up 14.3% year-on-year.

CATL (HKEX: 3750) retained first place with 333.0 GWh installed globally through August, up 25.2% year-on-year and comfortably ahead of the overall market's growth rate. Its share rose to 39.4% from 37.7% a year earlier, though it slipped 0.5 percentage points from the 39.9% recorded in January through July.

BYD (HKEX: 1211) ranked second with 127.9 GWh, up just 6.2% year-on-year — roughly a third of the market's growth pace. Its share fell to 15.1% from 17.1% a year earlier, but improved on the 14.7% posted through July.

The two companies' combined share of 54.6% was unchanged from January through July and only slightly below the 54.8% of a year earlier. Their duopoly over more than half the global market remains intact.

Korean and Japanese suppliers lose ground

LG Energy Solution held third place with 68.3 GWh, up a marginal 0.9% year-on-year, while its share fell to 8.1% from 9.6%. LGES continued supplying Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), GM, Hyundai Motor Group and Volkswagen, but its growth lagged well behind the overall market, SNE Research said.

The pain was concentrated in North America. LGES installations there fell 42.3% year-on-year to 14.6 GWh, offsetting gains in Europe and Asia.

Panasonic ranked sixth with 29.7 GWh, up 1.8%. Tesla's North American sales supported its installations, but its share still fell to 3.5% from 4.1%. SK On was the only company in the top 10 to record an outright decline, down 14.5% year-on-year to 24.9 GWh, with its share shrinking to 2.9% from 4.1%.

Chinese mid-tier suppliers drive consolidation

The seven Chinese companies in the top 10 held a combined 73.3% share, up 3.6 percentage points from 69.7% a year earlier and above the 72.8% recorded through July.

CALB (HKEX: 3931) ranked fourth with 44.4 GWh, up 32.6%, lifting its share to 5.3% from 4.7%. Gotion High-tech (SZSE: 002074) ranked fifth with 41.5 GWh, up 47.1%, raising its share to 4.9% from 4.0%.

Eve Energy (SZSE: 300014) ranked seventh with 29.5 GWh, up 53.9%, while its share climbed to 3.5% from 2.7%. Svolt Energy ranked ninth with 22.0 GWh, up 39.3%, moving its share to 2.6% from 2.2%.

Rept Battero Energy (HKEX: 666) posted the fastest growth in the group: installations surged 126.3% to 20.3 GWh, retaining tenth place as its share nearly doubled to 2.4% from 1.3%.

Regional split exposes North American weakness

Installations grew 29.2% year-on-year in Europe, 16.9% in China, 76.0% in Asia excluding China and 179.9% in South America.

North America moved in the opposite direction. Regional installations fell 23.7% year-on-year to 73.1 GWh. SNE Research said the shortfall in US EV demand persisted, with battery manufacturers shifting some EV battery production lines to energy storage systems (ESS).

That production-line reallocation is the operational story beneath the share tables: suppliers with North American exposure — LGES, Panasonic, SK On — are converting EV capacity to ESS output while Chinese producers expand into Europe and the rest of Asia.

What to watch next: SNE Research's full-year 2026 data, which will show whether CATL can hold its share above 39% after the July-to-August dip, and whether the US demand shortfall forces further line conversions at Korean and Japanese battery plants in North America.