China's battery industry delivered a strong performance in August, with production, sales, installations and exports all rising sharply, according to data released by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA) and reported by D1EV.
Total production of power and energy storage batteries reached 237 GWh in August, up 8.8% month-on-month and 69.8% year-on-year. Cumulative output for the first eight months of 2026 stood at 1,523.9 GWh, a 57% increase from the same period last year. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) remained the dominant chemistry, with output of 195.3 GWh, up 79.8% year-on-year, accounting for 82.4% of the total. Ternary (NCM) battery output grew 33.5% to 41.2 GWh.
Energy storage leads sales growth
Total battery sales in August reached 223.1 GWh, up 20.5% month-on-month and 65.9% year-on-year. Power battery sales rose 48.5% to 146.8 GWh, while energy storage battery sales jumped 114.3% to 76.3 GWh. For the first eight months, energy storage battery sales totaled 450.5 GWh, an 83.8% increase, lifting their share of total sales to 32.5%, up 5.9 percentage points from a year earlier. Nearly all energy storage batteries (99.96%) used LFP chemistry, making it a dedicated segment for the technology.
Exports also surged. August exports reached 42.4 GWh, up 87.5% year-on-year, with energy storage battery exports soaring 134.2% to 17.7 GWh. In the first eight months, cumulative exports rose 49.6% to 259.0 GWh. Companies including CALB, BYD, Gotion High-tech and EVE Energy saw export growth exceeding the industry average.
Installations climb steadily
Domestic power battery installations in August totaled 79 GWh, up 26.3% year-on-year and 5.9% month-on-month. Cumulative installations for January-August reached 489.1 GWh, a 17.0% increase. LFP batteries accounted for 85.6% of August installations, up 31.0% year-on-year, while ternary batteries grew just 0.9%.
The market remains concentrated among top players. In August, 31 companies supplied batteries for vehicles, with the top two, five and ten accounting for 62.1%, 80.3% and 94.1% of installations, respectively. CATL led with 32.54 GWh (41.45% share), followed by BYD with 16.47 GWh (20.98%). CALB, EVE Energy and Gotion High-tech formed the second tier. In the first eight months, CATL and BYD cumulative installations were 218.2 GWh and 88.1 GWh, representing 44.7% and 18.1% shares.
Looking ahead, industry experts expect LFP to remain dominant in liquid batteries, with hybrid solid-liquid and sodium-ion batteries expected to accelerate in the next two years, according to Zhang Yongwei, chairman of the China EV 100 research institute, speaking at a forum. Full solid-state batteries are still in engineering validation, with mass production expected between 2030 and 2035.
