SEOUL/BEIJING — Chinese battery manufacturers secured seven of the top ten positions in the global electric vehicle battery market during the first half of 2026, capturing a combined 72.4% market share, according to data from SNE Research. This marks a 1.5 percentage point increase from the same period last year and represents a historic high for the first half of a year.

CATL maintains commanding lead

CATL retained its position as the world's largest EV battery maker with 242.7 GWh in installed capacity, up 25.3% year-on-year. Its global market share rose to 39.9%, approaching the 40% threshold . BYD followed in second place with 87.7 GWh, though its growth slowed to 1.6% as its battery business remained heavily dependent on its own vehicle sales . Together, CATL and BYD account for 54.3% of the global market.

Second-tier Chinese makers accelerate

Beyond the two leaders, Chinese second-tier manufacturers demonstrated robust growth. CALB recorded 34.3% growth to 37.3 GWh, while Gotion High-tech surged 44.2% to 34.0 GWh. EVE Energy grew 53.1% to 25.0 GWh, and SVOLT expanded 39.1% to 18.9 GWh . EVE Energy posted the highest growth rate among top ten players, driven by its 46-series large cylindrical battery deliveries to BMW's Neue Klasse models.

China leads world's first solid-state battery standard

In a parallel development, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) officially approved China's proposal for the world's first international standard on solid-state batteries for electric vehicles on August 21, 2026 . The standard, titled "Secondary Lithium-ion Batteries for Electric Road Vehicles — Application Guide, Test Items and Conditions for Solid-State Batteries," establishes unified testing protocols for next-generation battery technology.

The proposal was led by China with participation from experts from France, Japan, South Korea, and other countries. It adopts a quantitative threshold of 0.5% mass loss after six hours in a vacuum at 120°C to distinguish true solid-state batteries from semi-solid variants currently marketed . The standard development process is expected to take 24 to 36 months.

Yang Chaoxing, a battery analyst at Shanghai Metals Market, noted that initiating an IEC-level framework signals the industry has reached a "tipping point," adding that "China's testing methods and evaluation systems could become the global default".