Strong, consistent performance through the first three months of the year puts LG Chem ahead of Panasonic by a thin margin.
In the first quarter of 2020, passenger vehicle cell suppliers deployed 20.5 GWh of battery capacity globally, down from 20.9 GWh during the first quarter of 2019 and 26.5 GWh in the fourth quarter, according to data from Adamas Intelligence’s EV Battery Capacity and Battery Metals Tracker.
After losing the top spot to LG Chem in January and February of 2020, Panasonic bounced back with a vengeance in March, deploying 3.8 GWh globally to LG Chem’s 2.2 GWh. Nevertheless, LG Chem’s strong, consistent performance through the first three months of this year was enough to put it ahead of Panasonic globally, if only by a thin margin.
In total, Adamas Intelligence data shows that LG Chem deployed 6.07 GWh in the first quarter of 2020 whereas Panasonic deployed 6.05 GWh over the same period. Collectively, the duo was responsible for 60% of all passenger EV battery capacity deployed globally in the first quarter of 2020.
By cathode chemistry, NCM 6-Series was the most used variety in the first quarter of 2020 by GWh deployed, followed closely by Tesla/Panasonic’s 3rd generation NCA and NCM 5-Series. In fourth place, high-nickel NCM 811 captured 9% of global market share by GWh deployed and an imposing 32% in China specifically.
