Tesla, Nio Battery Supplier CATL Retains Dominance Of Chinese Market In 2021 With 52% Share

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Nio Inc’s (NYSE: NIO) battery supplier CATL continued to grab a lion’s share of the Chinese power battery market last year, cnEVpost reported T, citing China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

What Happened: China’s largest battery supplier extended its lead to 52.1% market share last year, compared with 50% in 2020. 

The Ningde, China-headquartered CATL installed 80.51 GWh of power batteries in China last year.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett-backed BYD Co (OTC: BYDDY) ranked second with a 16.2% market share and installed 25.06 GWh of power batteries in 2021.

See Also: Chinese Consumers' Favorite EV Brand Is Not Tesla Or Nio But This Warren Buffett-Backed Company

CALB grabbed the third rank with a 5.9% market share and 9.05 GWh capacity installed in 2021.

Why It Matters: Automakers around the globe are rushing to secure battery supplies as they set steep targets to switch to electric vehicles. Battery makers and suppliers are going to play a crucial role in further accelerating that pace as well as in bringing down average electric vehicle prices. 

A report by SNE Research in September named CATL as the frontrunner in battery manufacturing for electric vehicles, with a 32.5% global market share. It added that the top ten battery manufacturers in the world are in Asia and that China accounts for 44.1% of the EV battery market.

See Also: Tesla, NIO Partner CATL Also Has A 'Business Relationship' With Ford

CATL also supplies batteries to Xpeng Inc (NYSE: XPEV), Volkswagen Ag (OTC: VWAGY) and has recently been added as a supplier for Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F).

Price Action: Tesla shares closed 3.9% higher at $1,106.2 a share on Wednesday.