As Chinese battery suppliers approach 60 percent of Europe’s market share, South Korea’s leading battery manufacturers are adjusting their strategies to maintain competitiveness. Backed by aggressive pricing and large-scale production, Chinese companies are expanding exports to Europe even before their local plants are fully operational, putting pressure on established players such as LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK On.
China’s largest battery producer has already started construction on a joint plant in Spain and will begin mass production at its Hungarian site next year. Along with a smaller facility in Germany, these projects will give the company over 160 gigawatt-hours of capacity in Europe—enough to power more than two million electric vehicles. Meanwhile, the EU is moving to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains through measures like the Net Zero Industry Act, which mandates that 40 percent of batteries sold in the bloc be produced locally by 2030, and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which imposes tariffs based on carbon intensity.
Despite these regulatory efforts, Korean battery makers have seen their collective share of the European market fall from 60.4 percent in 2023 to around 30 percent in 2025, according to SNE Research. Industry observers caution that planned EU screenings of foreign investments and antisubsidy investigations may offer only limited relief, especially as some member states continue to welcome Chinese investment. One regulatory specialist noted that earlier proposals for stringent carbon-footprint disclosures and due-diligence reporting were recently scaled back, sending mixed signals to industry participants.
To counter China’s rising influence, Korean firms are diversifying their product portfolios. They are shifting away from high-nickel, long-range cells toward mid-range chemistries and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries better suited for Europe’s shorter daily travel distances and widespread fast-charging infrastructure. A notable example is a recent 2 trillion-won supply agreement between LG Energy Solution and Mercedes-Benz, which is expected to involve mid-nickel NCM cells for the automaker’s mid-priced electric models.
While Chinese plans for 160 gigawatt-hours of European capacity may risk replicating the oversupply challenges seen in China, the scale of that investment underscores the urgency for Korean suppliers to adapt their regional strategies.
Source: The Korea Herald
