EV battery manufacturers rating shows a new second place as Tesla suppliers LG and Panasonic fall in the standings

For the first time, the installed battery capacity of electric vehicles sold in 2017 exceeded half a terawatt-hour, and the list of the top EV battery manufacturers has changed. Despite the Model 3 and Model Y LFP cell bonanza, CATL is still in charge, but there is a new contender for second place. The combined battery manufacturing of EVs and hybrids in 2022 increased 78% year over year, and may soon surpass 1TWh. Current production of battery cells for electric automobiles is still dominated by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), with LG coming in second with just a little more than a third of the market. Photo Credit: Bloomberg.com According to the most recent data from SNE Research, as Tesla's battery suppliers compete for dominance, its main rival BYD, which also manufactures its own cells, is rising through the rankings and is now ranked second in the world behind LG. Here are the top 10 battery manufacturers in the world by market share right now:

• CATL: 37%
• BYD: 13.6%
• LG: 13.6%
• 7.3% Panasonic
• SK On: 5.4%
• Galaxy: 4.7%
• CALB: 3.9%
• 2.7% GOTION
• 1.8% for Sunwoda
• 1.4% for farasis
• Other: 8.6%

While the manufacturers of the 2170 battery cells used in Tesla's performance electric cars, LG and Panasonic, actually saw their market share decline at a similar rate, BYD saw the highest increase, from 11% to 13.6%. Tesla switched to LFP batteries for its bestselling Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, which have a standard range. According to Tesla, "almost half of Tesla vehicles produced in Q1 were fitted with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, having neither nickel or cobalt," and that proportion has increased since then, increasing the market dominance of LFP battery manufacturer CATL. When Tesla hits the market with its anticipated 4680 battery capacity expansion, the list of the top EV battery manufacturers may undergo another reorganization. Tesla is preparing for annual government subsidies from the tax credits provided by the Inflation Reduction Act that will total US$3.5 billion and last until 2032. According to a recent report from Morgan Stanley, when Tesla's manufacturing efficiency is combined with government subsidies for American-made cells, it may actually become the manufacturer of the least expensive EV batteries. Photo Credit: Observer It will be fascinating to see when Tesla produces the terawatt-hour of battery capacity that Elon Musk hinted at at the press conference with investors to discuss the Q4 results. It goes without saying that the Chinese and Korean battery manufacturers won't sit still in the interim and have already planned additional plants on US soil to take advantage of the same subsidies that Tesla is vying for.