CATL, BYD Hold 44.5% of Non-China EV Battery Installs, Jan-Sep

CATL and BYD installed a combined 189.6 GWh of batteries in electric vehicles outside China in January-September 2026, a 44.5% share of the 426.7 GWh market, according to SNE Research data reported by CnEVPost on Nov. 5.

The market outside China grew 24.7% year on year, against 19.7% growth worldwide, SNE Research said. CATL installed 143.7 GWh, up 46.7%, for a 33.7% share, up from 28.6% a year earlier. BYD installed 45.9 GWh, up 66.8%, lifting its share to 10.8% from 8.0%. The figures count batteries fitted to battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles, not cells shipped.

Korean makers lose 11.7 points

LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI together installed 113.0 GWh, down 13.5%, and their combined share fell to 26.5% from 38.2%, CnEVPost reported. LG Energy Solution kept second place at 69.8 GWh (-4.9%, 16.4% share). SK On fell 17.9% to 28.2 GWh, and Samsung SDI fell 34.4% to 15.0 GWh. CarNewsChina, which reported the same data, attributed the Korean decline mainly to a sharp drop in North America. Panasonic installed 35.6 GWh, down 0.8%, for an 8.4% share against 10.5%.

Six Chinese makers reach 56.4%

Six Chinese suppliers in SNE's top 10 held 56.4% of the non-China market, up from 43.1%. Beyond CATL and BYD they are Gotion High-Tech (17.6 GWh, +153.8%), Svolt Energy (13.1 GWh, +102.3%), CALB (10.6 GWh, +88.5%) and EVE Energy (9.5 GWh, +214.6%). CnEVPost also reported that lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries took 27.7% of installations, up from 15.8%.

For cell buyers, the numbers show where the volume is moving: Chinese makers now supply more than half of the EV batteries installed outside China, and the LFP share is climbing with them. Voltgrid News reported earlier that Chinese battery makers plan $90B abroad, with Europe getting $31.5B of it.

Where the Korean makers are pivoting

The Korean makers are leaning on stationary storage as EV installations slip. SK On posted a KRW 80.5 billion third-quarter operating loss as it shifts toward energy storage systems (ESS), and LG Energy Solution has said its ESS backlog reached 160 GWh. CATL, meanwhile, is adding European capacity: a Hungarian court cleared its Debrecen plant of a residents' challenge, with 100 GWh planned.

What is not confirmed yet

This report rests on CnEVPost and CarNewsChina's accounts of the SNE Research data, not on SNE's own tables. CarNewsChina's shares for Gotion, Svolt, CALB and EVE Energy appeared only in a chart, and neither outlet said how much of the Korean decline came from each region beyond the North America drop. Globally, CnEVPost's Nov. 2 report on the same period put CATL at 39.1% and BYD at 15.2%, a different base from the non-China figures above. Watch SNE's next update for whether CATL's European ramp widens the gap further.