Automotive
Batteries had a faster production growth rate (+66%) than EV's (+40%) in 2016, as the market became more BEV-oriented and a number of models had their batteries super-sized.
Panasonic continues to lead the charge, but has dropped share, as Tesla is effectively pulling the boat all by itself, with Toyota back in 2017 with the Prius Prime, this time with a decently-sized battery (For a PHEV, at least), expect Panasonic to recover share this year.
As for BYD, with the Second Place secured, it just continues to win market share, but production slowed down in the last quarter of 2016, as the brand prepares itself for their new Li-ion batteries.
LG followed the market while waiting for the battery-hungry Chevrolet Bolt, but AESC lost significant share, as they grew slower and with rumors saying that Nissan will prioritize LG batteries in the next Leaf, it seems AESC will start to drop in the ranking in a not-so-distant future.
After a close race with the Chinese CATL, Samsung ended the year in Fifth, profiting from the BMW sales boom and in minor part also from Mercedes stepping up production of their PHEV's, with BMW setting ambitious goals for this year, Samsung battery division should have a splendid 2017, maybe even outrunning AESC.
Now consider this, if we add Buses batteries to the tally, BYD goes straight to #1 and CATL jumps from #6 to Third Place...
| Pl | Battery Makers | 2016 MWh | 2015 MWh | % '16 | % '15 |
| 1 | Panasonic | 6.665 | 4.552 | 33 | 38 |
| 2 3 4 5 | BYD LG Chem AESC Samsung SDI Others | 4.020 2.285 1.622 1.157 4.651 | 1.652 1.432 1.272 504 2.877 | 20 11 8 6 23 | 14 12 11 4 21 |
| TOTAL | 20.400 | 12.289 | 100 | 100 |
A small remark, these are provisional numbers, based in some battery-size assumptions (eg, Tesla) and should serve as an indication, not as carved in stone values.
