Tesla sales push EV battery supplier LG Chem to No. 1

LG Chem topped the global electric vehicle battery market in the first quarter thanks to client company Tesla’s strong sales, data showed Wednesday.

According to market tracker EV Volumes, the company supplied 14 percent of the batteries for 88,461 Tesla EVs in the first quarter. Propelled by Tesla’s strong sales, LG Chem supplied EV batteries with a total storage capacity of 6.3 gigawatt hours. It took the lead over its Japanese competitor Panasonic for the first time in terms of quarterly deployment.

In its first-quarter performance Tesla outshone Volkswagen Group and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, which sold 60,721 and 55,866 EVs, respectively. Tesla sold 4,070 EVs in South Korea alone in the first quarter, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

LG Chem supplies EV batteries for Tesla’s Model 3. Since September, the it has provided cylindrical battery cells manufactured at its plant in Nanjing, China.

Samsung SDI ranked fourth, globally shipping EV batteries with a combined storage capacity of 1.3 gigawatt hours, and SK Innovation was seventh with 0.6 gigawatt hours.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)