The scoreboard for the global battery industry is in for the first seven months of 2026, and it tells one overwhelming story: China’s grip on EV batteries is tightening. Global installations of batteries in electric vehicles reached 725.2 GWh from January through July, up 20.4% year over year, according to new figures from South Korean research firm SNE Research. Seven Chinese manufacturers in the top ten combined for 72.8% of that — nearly three out of every four kilowatt-hours driving on the world’s roads.
CATL Alone Is Bigger Than the Next Four Combined
CATL remains the industry’s colossus. The Ningde-based giant installed 289.6 GWh in the first seven months, up 26.6% from a year ago, good for a 39.9% global share — more than the next four companies combined. BYD, which builds batteries almost exclusively for its own vehicles, held second place at 14.7% with 106.7 GWh, growing a modest 4.7%. Together, the top two control 54.6% of the world market.
Korea’s LG Energy Solution was the best-placed non-Chinese player in third at 8.3%, growing just 4.5% — slower than the market. Its compatriot SK On was the only top-ten manufacturer to shrink outright, down 9.8%. Japan’s Panasonic managed 7.6% growth and a 3.6% share.
| Rank / Maker | Share | GWh (Jan–Jul) | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. CATL | 39.9% | 289.6 | +26.6% |
| 2. BYD | 14.7% | 106.7 | +4.7% |
| 3. LG Energy Solution | 8.3% | 60.3 | +4.5% |
| 4. CALB | 5.1% | 37.3 | +34.3% |
| 5. Gotion | 4.7% | 34.0 | +44.2% |
| 6. Panasonic | 3.6% | 26.2 | +7.6% |
| 7. EVE Energy | 3.5% | 25.0 | +53.1% |
| 8. SK On | 3.1% | 22.3 | -9.8% |
| 9. Svolt | 2.6% | 18.9 | +39.1% |
| 10. Rept | 2.3% | 16.9 | +118.5% |
The Second Tier Is Growing Even Faster
The most striking numbers are further down the table. China’s mid-size battery makers are expanding at two to five times the market rate: CALB grew 34.3%, Gotion 44.2%, EVE Energy 53.1%, and Svolt 39.1%. Rept Battero more than doubled its installations, up 118.5%, and cracked the global top ten for the first time. July itself showed no sign of a slowdown, with 116.0 GWh installed worldwide — up 22.1% year over year.
The trend line is unforgiving for the Korean and Japanese incumbents. SNE’s half-year data showed the same three companies — LGES, SK On, and Panasonic — steadily ceding ground even as installations outside China grew 26.3% in the first half, because CATL is winning there too: it was the top supplier outside China as well, growing over 40% in that segment.
What It Means
Batteries are roughly a third of an EV’s cost, and this data shows the supply chain consolidating around Chinese chemistry — mostly the cheap, durable LFP cells that CATL, BYD, and the fast-rising second tier have made their specialty. That’s exactly why Western governments are subsidizing domestic battery plants and why automakers from Ford to Tesla are localizing LFP production or, as Tesla did with its new rare-earth-free Cybercab motor, engineering around Chinese-controlled materials. But the gap keeps widening, not closing: the challengers growing 40, 50, and 118 percent are all Chinese, too. For now, whoever makes the world’s EVs, China makes their batteries.
Sources: CnEVPost (SNE Research data), Battery-Tech Network
Giant Fleet 
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