Pike Research Assesses EV Battery Manufacturers

Taipei, Feb. 23, 2012 (CENS)--The electric vehicle (EV) battery industry is maturing; while some companies have been developing products for as long as 15 years, others are less than a decade old, according to Pike Research, a market intelligence firm of global clean technology markets.

The earliest development efforts focused on nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) and lead-acid batteries, but today companies and automakers have standardized lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, Pike Research said. The Li-ion automotive market is currently led by Japanese and South Korean companies that originally produced cells for the consumer electronics and computing markets. These veteran companies are gradually being challenged by companies, primarily from China and North America, who are slowly gaining customers, mostly in their domestic markets.

According to a new report published by Pike Research, the manufacturers best positioned to take advantage of these market shifts are LG Chem and Johnson Controls.

“Despite significant investment in battery production and technology development in the United States 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.”

The market leader today, LG Chem, was ranked highest in both the Strategy and Execution categories in this Pike Pulse report. The company has a diversified customer base of international automotive OEMs that are expected to be among the most successful sellers of hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles. This customer base will likely give LG Chem the largest market share for EV batteries in 2012.

Ranking second in both Strategy and Execution is Johnson Controls Inc., which sells Li-ion batteries to makers of both hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in all three of the major regions offering EVs: North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.