(Yicai Global) Feb. 8 -- Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology remained the world’s biggest maker of electric car batteries for the fifth year running last year, according to the latest data.

CATL occupied a 32.6 percent share of the world’s auto lithium-ion battery market in 2021 with an installed capacity of 96.7 gigawatt hours, The Paper reported yesterday, citing data from South Korean market research firm SNE Research.

South Korea’s LG Energy Solution came second with 20.3 percent market share and an installed capacity of 60.2 GWh. While Japan’s Panasonic ranked third with an installed capacity of 36.1 GWh and a 12.2 percent slice of the market.

Global installations of EV batteries doubled last year from the year before to 296.8 GWh, the report said. In December last year, total battery capacity installed rose for the 18th straight month, surging 53.2 percent year on year to 43.7 GWh.

And the outlook remains rosy. Global EV battery needs are expected to reach 406 GWh by 2023 yet production capacity will only be at 335 GWh, SNE Research said.

Chinese players have benefited from rapid growth in sales of new energy vehicles in the country. BYD ranked fourth with an installed capacity of 26.3 GWh, seizing 8.8 percent market share, while China Aviation Lithium Battery Technology, Gotion High-Tech and Svolt Energy Technology all made the top ten.

Svolt logged the fastest growth, with sales surging more than five-fold in 2021 from the year before. Ningde, southeastern Fujian province-based CATL and Shenzhen-based BYD saw capacity increase by more than two and a half times while CALB and Gotion’s output also doubled.

Editor: Kim Taylor