S. Korean EV battery makers' market share tops 40 pct in Feb.

SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- The combined market share of South Korea's three major electric vehicle (EV) battery producers topped 40 percent in February for the first time, industry data showed Tuesday, as electric vehicles are gaining ground in major markets.

Based on the global usage of their EV batteries, the combined market share of the country's three EV battery makers -- LG Chem Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK Innovation Co. -- stood at 42 percent in February, up from 20.9 percent a year earlier, according to data from market tracker SNE Research.

LG Chem was the second-best performer in the world with a 29.6 percent market share, and 1.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of its EV batteries was used in February, compared with 666 megawatt-hours (MWh) from a year earlier.

Samsung SDI was fifth on the list with a 6.5 percent market share after the global usage of its EV batteries rose 54.8 percent on-year to 372 MWh, while SK Innovation ranked sixth with a 5.9 percent market share with 342 MWh, the data showed.

SNE Research said Japan's Panasonic topped the list with a 34.1 percent market share, and the usage of its EV batteries increased 74 percent on-year to 1.96 GWh.

China's CATL was the No. 3 player in February with a 9.4 percent market share, and usage of its EV batteries fell 46.8 percent on-year to 544 MWh.

entropy@yna.co.kr
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