China April battery installations grow 15%, reversing 2-month decline

• Power battery installations stood at 62.4 GWh in April, with LFP batteries capturing an 81.5% share.
• Combined exports of power and energy storage batteries reached 31.7 GWh, up 42.0% year-on-year but down 12.3% sequentially.

China's power battery installations rebounded last month, reversing a two-month consecutive decline.

Power battery installations totaled 62.4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in April, rising 15.2% year-on-year and up 10.4% from March, according to data released Monday by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

During the traditional slow season for Chinese auto sales in February and March, power battery installations fell 24.64% and 0.18% year-on-year, respectively.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries continued to cement their market dominance, with April installations reaching 50.8 GWh, accounting for a commanding 81.5% share of the domestic market.

LFP installations grew 13.4% from a year earlier and 11.0% from March.

Ternary battery installations recorded 11.5 GWh in April, making up 18.5% of the total. This represents a 24.2% year-on-year increase and a 7.6% rise from the previous month.

In the first four months of the year, China's power battery installations totaled 187.2 GWh, up 1.6% from the same period in 2025.

LFP battery installations during this period stood at 149.8 GWh, comprising 80.0% of the total, despite a slight 0.1% year-on-year dip.

Ternary batteries saw installations of 37.4 GWh from January to April, accounting for 20.0% of the total, posting an 8.9% year-on-year growth.

In April, total sales of power and energy storage batteries in China reached 164.2 GWh, surging 39.0% year-on-year but dropping 6.2% from March.

Power battery sales were 108.9 GWh in April, representing 66.4% of total sales. This marked a 25.8% year-on-year increase but a 5.0% month-on-month decline.

Energy storage battery sales stood at 55.2 GWh, accounting for 33.6% of the total. This was up 75.5% year-on-year but down 8.5% sequentially.

Despite strong annual expansion momentum, battery exports saw a double-digit month-on-month slump in April, directly impacted by the new export tax rebate policy.

China exported a combined 31.7 GWh of power and energy storage batteries in April, accounting for 19.3% of the month's total sales. This jumped 42.0% year-on-year but fell 12.3% from March.

Power battery exports in April were 20.2 GWh, up 40.1% year-on-year but down 9.0% sequentially.

Energy storage battery exports reached 11.4 GWh in April, achieving a 45.4% year-on-year growth but dropping 17.4% from the previous month.

For the January-April period, cumulative exports of power and energy storage batteries reached 115.8 GWh, an increase of 38.1% year-on-year.

Power batteries remained the primary export driver in the first four months, with 77.1 GWh shipped abroad. This accounted for 66.6% of total exports and represented a 47.5% year-on-year surge.

Energy storage battery exports for the first four months totaled 38.7 GWh, making up 33.4% of total exports and growing 22.5% year-on-year.

In April, China's combined production of power and energy storage batteries hit 183.9 GWh, jumping 55.6% year-on-year and up 3.5% from March.

From January to April, the total output of power and energy storage batteries reached 671.3 GWh, a 51.0% increase year-on-year.

Global EV battery market share in January-March 2026: CATL 40.7%, BYD 13.7%

CATL continues to dominate the market with a 40.7% share, while South Korean rivals suffer a decline due to slowing US demand.

Battery

May 6, 2026