(Yicai) Sept. 6 -- Contemporary Amperex Technology, the world's biggest maker of electric vehicle batteries, further reinforced its commanding position in the global market for electric vehicle batteries in January to July, swelling its market share to almost 37 percent, according to new data.

CATL’s market share rose to 36.6 percent in the first seven months of the year, from 35.4 percent last year, after use of its EV batteries surged 54 percent from a year ago to 132.9 gigawatt-hours, figures published by South Korea’s SNE Research showed today.

BYD, a Chinese EV and battery giant, ranked second with a battery loading volume of 58.1 GWh, a 94 percent surge. Its market share rose to 16 percent from 12.3 percent last year.

Ningde-based CATL has been rapidly expanding in Europe and North America after it began to penetrate overseas markets, SNE said. Its batteries are used in Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y, Chinese commercial vehicles, and major electric passenger cars domestically, including GAC Group's Aion Y and SAIC's MG Mulan, SNE noted.

Four other Chinese battery firms ranked in the top 10, with CALB coming in at sixth, Eve at eighth, Guoxuan High-Tech at ninth, and Sunwoda Electronic at 10th. The combined market share of the six Chinese companies on the list was 63 percent, up from 60 percent.

Eve was the only company in the top 10 to notch up triple-digit growth, with its installed capacity soaring 151 percent to 8 GWh, while its market share nearly doubled to 2.2 percent.

The market shares of Korea’s Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, and SK On, collectively known as the K-trio, stood at 23.5 percent, down from 25.2 percent a year ago, eve though use of their batteries increased.

LG Energy Solution ranked third with a 53.2 percent jump to 51.4 GWh, SK On took the fifth spot with a 16.3 percent jump to 19 GWh, and Samsung SDI ranked seventh with a 32 percent increase to 15 GWh.

Panasonic, a major supplier to Tesla, was the only Japanese firm in the top 10, with usage of its batteries soaring 38 percent to 26.6 GWh.

Worldwide EV battery use jumped 49 percent to 362.9 GWh in the period.

Editor: Martin Kadiev