Apart from smartphones, tablets, TVs, wearables, chipsets, displays, and other consumer electronics, Samsung also makes batteries for various products. Samsung SDI is Samsung's business arm that makes batteries for smartphones, wearables, and even electric vehicles. Now, it has been revealed that Samsung is the world's third-biggest battery brand.
According to the latest numbers from SNE Research, Samsung SDI had a global market share of 10.1%. The company ranked third during the period (January 2021 to May 2021), thanks to battery sales for the Audi E-Tron, Fiat 500, and Ford Kuga. With a market share of 35.5%, LG Energy was the world's biggest battery maker during the period. The company added 7 percentage points to its market share from the previous period, thanks to impressive sales for the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Volkswagen ID.3, and Volkswagen ID.4.
Panasonic was the world's second-biggest battery maker, with a market share of 27.8%. Another South Korean firm, SK Innovation, was on the list with a market share of 9.7%. The company relied on sales of the Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona and Benz GLE PHEV. Chinese battery firm CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology) ranked fifth with a market share of 9.6%. It grew 311% year-over-year, though, thanks to impressive sales of the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y.
Compared to last year, the global battery usage increased 2.2x to 46.2GWhr from January 2021 to May 2021. Samsung plans to open up a battery factory in the US, and it is hoping to win a contract to make batteries for upcoming Tesla cars. The company recently completed prototyping 4680 battery cells for Tesla cars and it is already supplying batteries to Rivian.
