Gasgoo Munich- China's power battery installations climbed to 71.9 GWh in May 2026, according to the latest data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA). That represents a 25.9% year-on-year jump and a 15.2% monthly rise, extending a steady growth trajectory.
Image Source: CABIA (same below)
Beneath the surface of prosperity, however, the competitive landscape is shifting subtly. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) continued to crush ternary materials, claiming an 81.2% monthly share. The combined market share of the "Dual Kings"—CATL and BYD—has slipped slightly, yet their dominance remains unbreakable. Meanwhile, the battle for rankings among second-tier players has turned white-hot. The market is quietly moving beyond a simple race for capacity, shifting toward a complex contest of technology, cost, and client relationships.
LFP: The Dominant Force
The divergence in battery chemistry has emerged as the clearest trend in May's installation data.
With 58.4 GWh of installations, LFP batteries captured an 81.2% market share. While not the peak level seen this year, the figure once again underscores their absolute dominance in the power battery sector.
By contrast, ternary battery installations reached just 13.4 GWh, accounting for an 18.6% share. Even though their 27.3% annual growth slightly outpaced LFP's 25.4%, the absolute volume increase is insufficient to challenge the latter's rule.
This pattern—LFP as the primary force, ternary as the auxiliary—is equally evident in the cumulative data from January to May. LFP installations totaled 208.2 GWh, claiming an 80.4% share, while ternary materials accumulated 50.8 GWh for a 19.6% slice.
Why is the market tilting toward LFP? The answer lies in the balance between cost and practicality.
As the penetration of new energy vehicles breaks through bottlenecks and price wars rage on, automakers remain highly sensitive to battery costs. Leveraging the cost advantage of avoiding precious metals and increasingly mature pack technologies—such as CTP and Blade Batteries—LFP has effectively bridged the gap in energy density.
Today, a growing number of long-range models—and even some entry-level premium vehicles—are adopting LFP solutions. This shift is the core driver behind the chemistry's relentless market expansion.
Notably, "other" battery types experienced explosive growth in May. Installations hit 0.1 GWh, surging 2,327.4% month-on-month and 771.8% year-on-year. While the absolute base remains tiny at just 0.2% of the total, the category includes multi-composite and lithium manganate batteries, signaling the industry's continued exploration of new material systems.
In the window before solid-state batteries become commercialized, these differentiated technologies are carving out niches in specific segments—potential wildcards in the future technological landscape.
Giants Slip, Mid-Tier Scramble
If battery chemistry is the macro narrative, the shifting corporate rankings are a silent micro-war. May's data reveals a seemingly contradictory phenomenon: market concentration remains extremely high, yet the lead of the top two players is quietly eroding under pressure from challengers.
In terms of concentration, the top two firms—CATL and BYD—accounted for 44.9 GWh of installations in May, or 62.5% of the total. That represents a 2.8 percentage-point drop from last year. The top five and top ten firms held 79.2% and 93.8% respectively, also showing slight declines. This suggests that while the hierarchy at the top appears set, the elimination of smaller players and the rise of mid-tier firms are slowly diluting the absolute dominance of the "Dual Kings." Still, this erosion is gradual and unlikely to shake the foundation in the short term.
Zooming in on specific players, CATL held a 46.14% market share with 33.08 GWh of installations—nearly half the market. Although its share slipped 0.51 percentage points month-on-month, its status as the sole superpower remains secure. This is largely due to its deeply entrenched customer base, which spans almost every major automaker, from startups to traditional giants.
BYD followed in second place with 11.87 GWh, capturing a 16.56% share. Notably, BYD also saw a slight monthly decline. This relates to its model of primarily producing for its own needs; as it gradually opens its external supply system and navigates its own sales fluctuations, market share volatility is inevitable.
The real drama lies in the scramble within the second tier. Gotion High-tech took third place with 4.44 GWh (6.19%), but CALB is closing in fast with 4.30 GWh (5.99%). The gap of just 0.14 GWh—or 0.2 percentage points—highlights the intensity of this close-quarters battle. Looming large behind them is EVE Energy, which holds a formidable 3.23 GWh (4.50%) volume.
Furthermore, companies like REPT, Zhengli New Energy, and Sunwoda are showing strong momentum. Sunwoda, in particular, saw its market share jump 0.68 percentage points month-on-month—one of the most significant gains among the top fifteen. Meanwhile, foreign player LG Energy Solution returned to the top ten with 1.54 GWh of installations, boosting its share by 1.58 percentage points.
A notable trend is the sharp drop in the number of companies recording installations from January to May: 13 fewer than last year, leaving just 37. This cold data reveals that a brutal elimination race is accelerating. The top players are building increasingly wide moats through a virtuous cycle of scale, cost, and technology, while smaller firms lacking core competitiveness are being pushed out of the market at an accelerating pace.
Looking ahead, competition in the power battery industry will no longer be a simple race for capacity. It will be a comprehensive contest of strength, where the "Matthew effect"—the strong getting stronger—will only intensify.
