China's Battery Market Sees Technology Consolidation Alongside Rising Competition in 2025
China's power battery industry expanded rapidly in the first eleven months of 2025, with lithium iron phosphate technology capturing over 80% market share even as market leaders CATL and BYD saw their combined dominance decline by nearly five percentage points. The sector recorded cumulative battery installations of 671.5 GWh through November, up 42.0% year-on-year, according to data from China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance.
The market leaders Contemporary Amperex Technology and BYD held a combined 65.02% market share through November, down from approximately 70% in 2024. CATL's market share fell to 42.92% from 45.08% in 2024, while BYD's dropped to 22.1% from 24.99%.
Second-tier manufacturers posted strong gains during the period. Gotion High-Tech increased its market share to 5.63%, up 1.2 percentage points from 2024, while Rept Battero Energy expanded its November market share by 0.69 percentage points to 2.98 GWh.
Export growth, particularly in energy storage applications, emerged as a key driver, with storage battery exports rising 51.4% year-on-year through November, outpacing the 40.6% growth rate for power battery exports.
Production and Sales Accelerate
China's power and other battery cumulative production reached 1,468.8 GWh in the January-November period, up 51.1% year-on-year, while sales totaled 1,412.5 GWh, climbing 54.7%. November marked a historic milestone as monthly installations exceeded 90 GWh for the first time, reaching 93.5 GWh—an 11.2% month-on-month increase and 39.2% year-on-year gain.
The growth rates significantly exceeded 2024 levels, indicating the battery industry remains in a high-expansion phase. While installation growth rates held relatively steady, they reflected rising battery capacity per vehicle despite slower overall new energy vehicle market growth.
Lithium Iron Phosphate Dominance Strengthens
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries extended their market leadership, with cumulative installations of 545.5 GWh accounting for 81.2% of total installations through November—up from 74.6% for full-year 2024 when installations totaled 409.0 GWh. The technology posted 56.7% year-on-year growth.
LFP batteries gained ground across passenger and commercial vehicle segments, driven by cost advantages and safety characteristics. Ternary lithium batteries, while maintaining demand in high-performance vehicle applications, saw their overall market share continue to contract. In exports, ternary batteries comprised 58.3% of power battery exports, primarily supplying overseas premium vehicle models.
Storage Battery Exports Drive Overseas Growth
Battery exports demonstrated strong performance in 2025, with storage applications emerging as the core growth engine. Cumulative exports of other batteries, primarily for storage applications, reached 90.5 GWh through November, up 51.4% year-on-year—exceeding the 40.6% growth rate for power battery exports of 169.8 GWh.
Overseas markets accounted for 18.4% of total battery sales through November, representing a 1.2 percentage point increase from 2024 and a 4.5 percentage point gain from 2023. Chinese battery manufacturers' overseas production facilities, including CATL's European operations and Gotion's U.S. plant, contributed to results as the industry transitioned from product exports toward localized production and technology transfer.
Commercial Vehicles Emerge as Growth Driver
New energy commercial vehicle battery demand surged in 2025, establishing the segment as a critical growth pillar. Through November, Eve Energy achieved commercial vehicle installations of 16.43 GWh, while Gotion reached 10.18 GWh and Rept Battero 7.49 GWh, all benefiting from accelerated electrification of heavy-duty trucks and buses.
Commercial vehicle installations increased their share of total installations by 3.2 percentage points compared to 2024, breaking the previous pattern of passenger vehicle dominance. While passenger cars maintained over 70% of installations through November, commercial vehicle growth marked a significant shift in demand structure.
Material Demand Surges
Raw material consumption expanded in line with production growth. Through November, consumption included 619,000 metric tons of ternary materials, 2.902 million metric tons of lithium iron phosphate materials, 2.054 million metric tons of anode materials, and 29.34 billion square meters of separators. Electrolyte consumption reached 275,000 metric tons for ternary batteries and 1.741 million metric tons for LFP batteries.
These volumes represented substantial increases from full-year 2024, when consumption totaled 490,000 metric tons of ternary materials, 1.934 million metric tons of LFP materials, 1.270 million metric tons of anode materials, and 16.42 billion square meters of separators.
Technical Advances Support Higher Capacity
Average battery capacity per vehicle continued its upward trajectory through November. Pure electric passenger vehicles from major manufacturers typically exceeded 50 kWh, with premium models surpassing 70 kWh—representing an 8% increase from 2024 levels and approximately 15% from 2023.
LFP batteries achieved technical improvements in energy density and low-temperature performance through cathode doping and electrolyte enhancements, enabling applications across vehicle segments from A0-class passenger cars to heavy trucks. The advances aligned battery technology with automaker cost-reduction requirements and consumer demand for extended range.
Alternative battery technologies, including sodium-ion and solid-state batteries, began commercial trial production. While representing just 0.1% to 0.3% of production and sales volumes, these emerging technologies frequently posted month-on-month growth exceeding 100%, indicating early-stage industrialization.