Global EV Battery Installations Rise 10.7% YoY in January 2026; CATL and BYD Hold Top Two Spots

On March 8, SNE Research reported that global electric vehicle (EV) battery installations reached 71.9 GWh in January 2026, up 10.7% year-over-year. Chinese battery makers demonstrated strong performance: CATL maintained its position as the world’s top supplier with 32.5 GWh of installations, a 25.7% year-over-year increase, while BYD ranked second with 9.9 GWh. In contrast, the combined market share of South Korea’s three major battery manufacturers—LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI—fell to 12.0%, down 4.3 percentage points year-over-year, as their individual installation volumes declined by 14.9%, 21.3%, and 24.4%, respectively. Analysts attributed the decline in Korean firms’ market share primarily to a sharp 30.2% drop in U.S. EV sales.