According to a new report from Pike Research, Japanese and Korean companies are currently the global leaders in the manufacture of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, but newer firms from China and North America are nipping away at marketshare.
‘Despite significant investment in battery production and technology development in the U.S. during the past three years, Japanese, Korean and Chinese companies currently lead in global sales of electric vehicle batteries, and they are likely to continue doing so in the near term,’ says research director John Gartner.
‘The market will likely see volatility during 2012 as some supplier agreements change hands, and some smaller companies will likely fail or be acquired due to an inability to reach volume production,’ he adds.
The research firm's Pike Pulse report evaluated 10 EV battery manufacturers and rated them based on 10 criteria. LG Chem was ranked highest in both the ‘Strategy’ and ‘Execution’ categories, reflecting the company's ‘diversified customer base of international automotive OEMs,’ Pike Research says.
LG Chem is currently the largest EV battery manufacturer in the world, and Pike Research expects it to claim the top spot in marketshare in 2012.
Ranking second in both ‘Strategy’ and ‘Execution’ is Johnson Controls Inc., which sells lithium-ion batteries to makers of both hybrid EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
‘The company's diverse product portfolio and its development of energy-storage technologies have created a positive reputation for quality within the automotive industry,’ the report says of Johnson Controls.
