South Korea’s electric vehicle battery giants, LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI, reported a remarkable year-on-year export growth of 52% in the first three quarters of 2022, as per Business Korea.
Meanwhile, the South Korean EV battery trio’s global share reportedly declined as numerous Chinese competitors led the market.
SNE Research data revealed that their global battery market share was only 24.8% as of October, representing a 6.9% decline from the previous year. On the other hand, China’s CATL alone had 35.3% of the global market.
Exports: LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI
The overall EV battery exports delivered by LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI was 27,179.8 billion won from Q1 to Q3 2O22. As stated above, it represents a significant increase of 52.1% YoY from just 17,860.6 billion won the previous year.
Notably, LG Energy Solution contributed the largest share of 10,966.7 billion won of the total 27,179.8 billion won. Meanwhile, the second largest share of 10,851.4 billion won was accounted to Samsung SDI, and the remaining 5,331.7 billion won was accumulated by SK On.
| Company | Share |
| LG Energy Solution | 10,966.7 billion won |
| Samsung SDI | 10,851.4 billion won |
| SK On | 5,331.7 billion |
| Total: 27,179.8 billion won |
Despite being in a trailing position, SK On demonstrates a remarkable growth of 208.9% YoY. For comparison, that number is way greater than the 60.2% growth noted by Samsung SDI and the 17.4% of LG Energy Solution.
What caused the sudden growth in exports?
Analysts claim that the increase in exports was caused by the impact of proactive foreign investment, which reportedly started in 2016.
For instance, LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI were able to erect their European battery cell plants at that time. One year later, SK Innovation decided on Komarom in northern Hungary as the location for its first foreign battery production center.
Apart from that, the South Korean battery giants are expected to allocate 40 trillion won for projects in the US by 2025.
Hopefully, the global share of the South Korean battery trio could catch up to its exports when the Inflation Reduction Act is fully implemented.
