Mid-nickel EV batteries garner 19% market share in China
November blew past the previous monthly record for battery capacity deployed worldwide in newly sold EVs, including plug-in and conventional hybrids, with 91.0 GWh hitting roads for the first time.
November came in 28% above the same month the year prior and total battery capacity deployed through the first 11 months of 2024 is already well beyond the 692.9 GWh racked up worldwide during calendar 2023.  Â
A remarkable 45% of the GWh hitting the world’s highways and byways during the month were in EVs powered by LFP batteries, up from a 34% proportion in November 2023.
The switch to LFP cathode chemistry kicked off in earnest with the release of BYD’s so-called Blade battery early in 2020 which saw the battery manufacturer, and now top EV maker globally, switch to an all LFP lineup. A full 63% EVs manufactured in China are now fitted with LFP batteries on a combined GWh basis.
In November last year, high-nickel cathode chemistries (including NCM 6–9 series, NCA and NCMA) captured 38% of the passenger EV market by GWh deployed, down from 44% in the same month in 2023.
The downtrend in market share for high-nickel packs is not just another reflection of the strength of LFP adoption, but also a sign of the continued popularity of mid-nickel batteries (around 50% nickel content) in China.
While Korean cell suppliers like LG Energy Solution and Samsung SDI have abandoned the technology, NCM 5-Series batteries supplied by among others CATL and CALB powered 19% of EVs made in China and sold in November. That compares to a 10% share of the market for mid-nickel batteries in Europe and the Americas.
Boosted by a sharp fall in nickel and cobalt prices narrowing the cost gap to LFP, energy dense mid-nickel batteries are finding their way into higher end models in China.
In November, the most popular models fitted with these batteries on a GWh basis were the R7 made by Luxeed, a premium brand owned by Huawei and Chery, and the Zeekr 01 (pictured), a luxury shooting brake style car in the Geely stable.
Methodology: We analyze the battery specifications, battery chemistries, and metal loadings of every unique passenger EV model-version (e.g., 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance AWD (MIC) – 4th generation) produced and sold globally each month with historical data back to January 2004 (~3,000 model-versions).
With this industry-leading granular insight in hand, we track global monthly production, trade and sales of each model-version for over 180 automakers in over 110 countries to accurately assess the competitive landscapes of cell suppliers and cell chemistries, and to quantify battery capacity and battery materials deployment onto roads, from the bottom up.
Reported battery capacity and materials deployment constitute installed terminal watt-hours and/or tonnes of materials and do not take into account losses during conversion, refining and manufacturing processes.
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