China EV battery installations hit record 87.2 GWh in September

· Energy · China

China's electric-vehicle battery installations reached 87.2 GWh in September, a fresh high for the year, rising 14.7% year on year, though growth slowed for a second consecutive month. CATL kept the top position with 40.92% market share, while BYD held 21.09%, with the gap between the two narrowing for a fourth straight month. Elsewhere in the battery supply chain, CATL's chairman donated shares worth $62.5 million to a research institute in Ningde, Fujian province, the city where the company is headquartered. The institute was established this year. The figures underline how concentrated China's battery market remains, and how the two leading suppliers' relative positions are shifting as competition in the world's largest EV market intensifies.

Why it matters：China's battery installation data is the clearest monthly gauge of global EV battery demand and of CATL's and BYD's relative strength, shaping supplier strategy, pricing and capacity planning worldwide.

Key points

  • Installs rose 14.7% year on year to a fresh 2026 high of 87.2 GWh
  • CATL held 40.92% share and BYD 21.09%, the fourth straight month the gap narrowed
  • CATL's chairman donated $62.5m in shares to a Ningde research institute

Sources (original reporting)

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