Biggest EV battery makers ranking reveals a new second place as Tesla suppliers LG and Panasonic drop

The total battery capacity of EVs and hybrids made in 2022 grew 78% year-on-year, and may soon reach 1TWh of annual production. Currently, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) is still the company that makes the most battery cells that then go into electric cars and the second LG is not even close at a bit over a third of CATL's market share. 

The latest numbers from the SNE Research shop show that, while Tesla's battery suppliers are vying for supremacy, its biggest competitor BYD which also makes its own cells, is actually climbing in the ranks and is now the world's second largest battery maker together with LG. Here's the current market share of the globe's top 10 battery manufacturers:

1. CATL: 37%
2. BYD: 13.6%
3. LG: 13.6%
4. Panasonic: 7.3%
5. SK On: 5.4%
6. Samsung: 4.7%
7. CALB: 3.9%
8. Gotion: 2.7%
9. Sunwoda: 1.8%
10. Farasis: 1.4%
11. Other: 8.6%

BYD experienced the biggest jump from 11% to 13.6% market share, while the makers of 2170 battery cells for Tesla's performance electric cars - LG and Panasonic - actually dropped with a similar rate. Tesla moved to LFP batteries for its standard range Model 3 and Model Y vehicles that are currently its bestselling versions. A year ago, "nearly half of Tesla vehicles produced in Q1 were equipped with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, containing no nickel or cobalt," said Tesla, and that share has grown since, boosting the LFP battery maker CATL's market share further.

The world's biggest EV battery makers ranking may get another reshuffling when Tesla enters the market with its planned 4680 battery capacity expansion. Tesla is positioning for US$3.5 billion of annual government subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits that will run until 2032. A Morgan Stanley analyst recently said that Tesla could actually become the maker of the cheapest EV batteries when its manufacturing efficiency combines with the federal subsidies for made-in-America cells.

It will be interesting to see when will Tesla hit the terawatt-hour of battery capacity production that Elon Musk was alluding to at the Q4 results press conference with investors. Needless to say, the Korean and Chinese battery makers won't stand still in the meantime, and have already planned multiple factories on US soil in order to benefit from those same subsidies that Tesla is gunning for, too.

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