China Feb EV battery installations drop 24.6% amid holiday lull

• China's February power battery installations dropped 24.6% year-on-year to 26.3 GWh, impacted by the timing of the Chinese New Year holiday.
• Despite the slump in installations, total battery production and export volumes continued to show year-on-year growth.

China's power battery installations suffered a significant decline in February as a major holiday disrupted industrial production.

Power battery installations stood at 26.3 GWh in February, down 24.64% year-on-year and 37.4% from January, data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA) showed Thursday.

The drop was largely attributed to the impact of the 2026 Chinese New Year holiday. The break, which fell between February 15 and February 23 this year, dealt a direct blow to industrial output.

In contrast, last year's holiday occurred from January 28 to February 4, creating a base effect discrepancy for the year-on-year data.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries continued to dominate the market. Their installations reached 20.6 GWh in February, accounting for 78.3% of the total.

However, the volume represented a 27.5% decrease year-on-year and a 36.9% drop from January.

By comparison, installations of ternary lithium batteries stood at 5.7 GWh in February, making up 21.7% of the total.

Ternary battery installations fell 11.4% year-on-year and 39.1% month-on-month.

Despite the decline in installations, battery production activity remained robust.

China's combined output of power and energy storage batteries totaled 141.6 GWh in February, achieving a 41.3% year-on-year increase, though it was down 15.7% from January.

The production of LFP batteries reached 114.6 GWh in February, up 41.7% year-on-year but down 16.1% from the previous month.

Ternary battery output was 26.9 GWh in February, rising 39.7% year-on-year but falling 13.8% from January.

On the export front, China shipped a combined 23.9 GWh of power and energy storage batteries in February. This reflected a 13.2% year-on-year growth, though it edged down 0.9% from January.

Detail export data showed a mixed performance. Power battery exports stood at 16.9 GWh in February, surging 31.9% year-on-year but decreasing 4.6% from January.

On the other hand, energy storage battery exports were 7.0 GWh in February, down 15.5% year-on-year but up 9.3% from the previous month.

For context, China's power battery installations showed a different trend in January. Installations that month reached 42.0 GWh, realizing an 8.4% year-on-year increase.

At that time, LFP battery installations were 32.7 GWh, accounting for 77.7% of the total. Power battery exports in January stood at 17.7 GWh, up 59.3% year-on-year.

Global EV battery market share in 2025: CATL 39.2%, BYD 16.4%

CATL and BYD's combined EV battery installations in 2025 came in at 659.5 GWh, accounting for 55.6% of the global total.

Battery

Feb 4, 2026