Major South Korean electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturers have experienced a decline in their global market share, according to recent data from SNE Research released on April 8, 2025. The combined market share of LG Energy Solution (LGES), SK On, and Samsung SDI dropped to 17.7% for the January to February period this year, marking a decrease of 5.5 percentage points compared to the same timeframe last year. This trend indicates that these leading Korean battery companies are losing ground to their Chinese counterparts in the global EV battery market.
Detailed analysis reveals that LG Energy Solution saw its market share fall significantly from 12.6% last year to 9.8% this year. SK On experienced a minor decline, decreasing from 4.8% to 4.7%, while Samsung SDI’s market share decreased more sharply from 5.8% to 3.2%. Despite these reductions in market share percentages, LGES and SK On both saw increases in their battery usage in gigawatt-hours (GWh). LGES’s usage rose by 8.5% year-on-year to 12.7 GWh, and SK On’s increased by 38.6% from 4.4 GWh to 6.1 GWh. In contrast, Samsung SDI’s usage declined by 22.2%, decreasing from 5.4 GWh to 4.2 GWh.
The loss in market share for Korean battery manufacturers is primarily attributed to the rapid expansion of Chinese companies, particularly BYD. BYD has been aggressively increasing its exports of EVs and batteries, especially in the European market, utilizing its lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. In the first quarter of 2025, BYD reported an estimated sales increase of between 86.04% and 118.88% year-on-year, reaching between 8.5 billion and 10 billion yuan (approximately $1.17 billion to $1.37 billion). Additionally, BYD’s market share in the secondary battery market grew from 12.1 GWh last year to 21.9 GWh this year, expanding its share from 13.1% to 16.9%.
The growth of BYD highlights the competitive pressures facing South Korean battery makers in the global market. As Chinese companies continue to innovate and scale their production capabilities, they are increasingly capturing a larger portion of the global EV battery market, challenging the dominance of established players from South Korea.
Source: Business Korea
