Recently, the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance released the March 2025 monthly data on power batteries.
The data shows that in March, China's power battery installations reached 56.6 GWh, up 62.3% MoM and 61.8% YoY. In Q1, the cumulative power battery installations in China totaled 130.2 GWh, up 52.8% YoY.
The competition among second and third-tier power battery enterprises remains intense.
From an enterprise perspective, in March, 41 power battery enterprises in China's NEV market achieved installation support, an increase of 2 YoY. The power battery installations of the TOP3, TOP5, and TOP10 enterprises were 40.5 GWh, 45.6 GWh, and 52.5 GWh, accounting for 71.7%, 80.6%, and 92.9% of the total installations, respectively.
In Q1, 46 power battery enterprises in China's NEV market achieved installation support, an increase of 4 YoY. The power battery installations of the TOP3, TOP5, and TOP10 enterprises were 95.4 GWh, 107.4 GWh, and 121.7 GWh, accounting for 73.3%, 82.5%, and 93.5% of the total installations, respectively.
From the domestic power battery TOP15 ranking, compared with February, in March, the first-tier companies CATL and BYD maintained their stable positions, while the competition among second and third-tier enterprises remained intense. In March, CALB returned to the 3rd position from the 5th; Gotion High-tech and EVE ranked 4th and 5th, respectively; SVOLT Energy Technology remained at 6th; Sunwoda and REPT Battero swapped positions, ranking 7th and 9th, respectively; LG Energy Solution returned to the TOP10, ranking 8th; Zenergy, which listed on the Hong Kong stock market on April 14, rose to 10th; Jidian New Energy ranked 11th; Inpower Battery, which entered the TOP10 for the first time in February, fell to 12th; DFD remained at 13th; Yaoning New Energy returned to the TOP15, ranking 14th, and Yuanhang Jinli ranked 15th.
From a market share perspective, compared with February, in March, Sunwoda, LG Energy Solution, BYD, Zenergy, Yaoning New Energy, CALB, and REPT Battero all achieved positive growth, with Sunwoda having the highest growth rate.
Compared with Q1 2024, in Q1 this year, the rankings of the TOP3 companies CATL, BYD, and CALB remained unchanged; Gotion High-tech and EVE swapped positions, ranking 4th and 5th, respectively; SVOLT Energy Technology and Sunwoda remained at 6th and 7th, respectively; REPT Battero and LG Energy Solution swapped positions, ranking 8th and 9th, respectively; Jidian New Energy and Zenergy swapped positions, ranking 10th and 11th, respectively; Inpower Battery, CORNEX New Energy, and Yaoning New Energy newly entered the TOP15, ranking 12th, 14th, and 15th, respectively; DFD remained at 13th.
From a market share perspective, in Q1 this year, BYD had the highest growth rate, while CATL, CALB, Sunwoda, LG Energy Solution, and EVE experienced varying degrees of decline.
LFP battery installations exceeded 100 GWh.
It is worth noting that the structure of power battery material types in China is changing, with the proportion of LFP batteries accelerating, reaching nearly 75% in 2024.
In Q1 2025, China's LFP battery installations exceeded 100 GWh, with its proportion in power batteries continuing to rise, reaching 80.8% overall, with February and March reaching 81.5% and 82.3%, respectively.
In March, China's LFP battery installations reached 46.6 GWh, accounting for 82.3% of the total installations, up 63.9% MoM and 97.0% YoY; ternary battery installations reached 10.0 GWh, accounting for 17.7% of the total installations, up 55.2% MoM and down 11.6% YoY.
In Q1, China's cumulative LFP battery installations reached 105.2 GWh, accounting for 80.8% of the total installations, up 93.6% YoY; cumulative ternary battery installations reached 25.0 GWh, accounting for 19.2% of the total installations, down 19.0% YoY.
In addition, the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance released data on the estimated demand for key materials for power and other batteries. In March, China's ternary material demand for power and other batteries was 42,000 mt, and LFP material demand was 223,000 mt; in Q1, China's ternary material demand for power and other batteries was 112,000 mt, and LFP material demand was 621,000 mt.
Battery Network noted that South Korean power battery enterprises are also accelerating their layout in the LFP battery sector. LG Energy Solution plans to start supplying Renault Group by the end of this year, while Samsung SDI and SK On aim to achieve mass production by 2026.
Huatai Securities recently released a research report predicting that LFP battery shipments will increase by 43% YoY in 2025, with future growth still exceeding that of batteries. The cost-performance advantage of LFP over ternary remains prominent, and the trend of increasing LFP penetration in the domestic power battery sector is clear. Overseas car models are also gradually introducing LFP, and the high-growth ESS sector predominantly uses LFP batteries, thus LFP material shipment growth is expected to outpace that of batteries.
Despite the strong growth of the LFP market, it is not easy to get a share of the pie.
The "China Iron Phosphate and Lithium Iron Phosphate Material Industry Development White Paper (2025)" jointly released by research institutions EVTank, the EVI Economic Research Institute, and the China Battery Industry Research Institute shows that in 2024, China's LFP material shipments reached 2.427 million mt, up 48.2% YoY, while the overall market size reached 97.08 billion yuan, down 30.3% YoY.
From an enterprise perspective, the top four enterprises in terms of shipments remained unchanged from 2023, with Hunan Yuneng ranking first with nearly 700,000 mt of shipments, accounting for 28.8% of the total market share, followed by Dynanonic, Wanrun New Energy, and Lopal. The combined market share of these four enterprises decreased by 6.1 percentage points compared with 2023.
As the LFP industry enters a cyclical adjustment phase after a period of rapid development, industry competition has intensified, and product selling prices have declined YoY, putting pressure on the overall profitability of top-tier enterprises. According to the 2024 annual reports and performance forecasts released by the above four companies, Hunan Yuneng saw both revenue and net profit decline, while Dynanonic, Wanrun New Energy, and Lopal were all in a loss-making state.
In addition, publicly listed firms that have crossed into the LFP battery sector have mostly failed due to insufficient technical accumulation, financial chain pressure, and industry cyclical fluctuations. For example, Jinpu Titanium terminated its investment in a 200,000 mt/year LFP project, Wanli Shares terminated its acquisition of LFP cathode material company Terui Battery, Heizhima's 3.2 billion yuan LFP ESS project was shelved, and Baihehua terminated its 40,000 mt/year LFP fundraising project.
Conclusion:
From recent market conditions, the production schedules of lithium battery enterprises in April remained relatively stable. SMM data shows that the production schedules of battery cell manufacturers remained stable, with a 14% MoM increase in March, mainly driven by LFP battery cells, and the operating rates of top-tier enterprises remained at a high level. Overall, power battery cell production in April is expected to continue to rise, with market sentiment continuing to recover.
On the policy front, the MIIT recently officially released GB38031-2025 "Safety Requirements for Power Batteries for Electric Vehicles" (hereinafter referred to as the new power battery safety regulations). The new power battery safety regulations include 7 single-cell tests and 17 battery pack or system tests, making "no fire, no explosion" a mandatory requirement for power batteries, and is known as the "strictest battery safety regulation in history."
The new power battery safety regulations will be implemented in phases: new car models applying for type approval will be subject to the regulations from July 1, 2026, while car models that have already obtained type approval will be subject to the regulations from July 1, 2027. The implementation of the new power battery safety regulations will not only promote the upgrading of battery technology and improve vehicle safety performance but also further drive the restructuring of the entire industry chain of NEVs.
