China’s power battery installations jump 33.5% in July, fastest pace this year — Explained

• LFP batteries' share rose to a record 84.6%, while ternary batteries fell to an all-time low of 14.9%.
• Exports of power and energy-storage batteries totaled 35.2 GWh in July, up 51.7% year-on-year.

China's power battery installations accelerated further in July, with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries reaching a record share as the electric vehicle (EV) industry continued shifting toward lower-cost battery technology.

Domestic power battery installations reached 74.6 GWh in July, up 33.5% year-on-year despite falling 2.5% from June, according to data released Tuesday by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

The year-on-year growth rate was higher than June's 31.4%, marking the fastest pace so far this year and the fourth consecutive month of acceleration. Installations had fallen 24.6% and 0.2% year-on-year in February and March, respectively.

July installations, however, declined from the previous month, ending 4 consecutive months of sequential growth. That was consistent with the traditional seasonal slowdown in China's auto market in July.

LFP batteries remained the main driver of growth. Installations reached 63.1 GWh in July, up 40.5% year-on-year while down slightly by 1.0% from June.

LFP batteries accounted for 84.6% of total installations during the month, a record high and up from 83.3% in June. It was the second consecutive month that the technology's share reached a new record.

Ternary battery installations totaled 11.1 GWh in July, up just 1.8% year-on-year while down 12.6% from June. Their share fell to 14.9% from 16.6% in June, the lowest on record.

Ternary battery installations have now declined sequentially for 2 consecutive months, indicating automakers are continuing to increase their use of LFP batteries amid cost and safety considerations, despite the technology's typically lower energy density.

In the first 7 months of the year, China's cumulative power battery installations reached 410.2 GWh, up 15.4% year-on-year, accelerating from 12.0% growth in the first 6 months. LFP batteries accounted for 335.1 GWh, or 81.7% of the total.

Battery production continued to expand much faster than domestic installation demand. Combined output of power and energy-storage batteries reached 218.0 GWh in July, up 62.9% year-on-year and 5.8% from June.

Cumulative output in the first 7 months reached 1,286.9 GWh, up 54.9% year-on-year, more than 3 times the growth rate of domestic power battery installations over the same period. Energy-storage demand and exports are absorbing part of the additional output.

Combined sales of power and energy-storage batteries reached 185.2 GWh in July, up 45.5% year-on-year but down 5.5% from June. Power battery sales totaled 129.1 GWh, while energy-storage battery sales were 56.1 GWh.

Energy-storage battery sales rose 55.4% year-on-year, faster than the 41.6% growth for power batteries, but fell 10.3% from June, a steeper decline than the 3.3% drop in power battery sales.

On the export front, combined shipments of power and energy-storage batteries reached 35.2 GWh in July, up 51.7% year-on-year but down 2.7% from June, accounting for 19.0% of total battery sales during the month.

Power battery exports totaled 24.0 GWh, up 62.1% year-on-year but down 5.9% from June. Energy-storage battery exports reached 11.3 GWh, up 33.4% year-on-year and 4.9% month-on-month.

Cumulative exports in the first 7 months reached 216.6 GWh, up 43.9% year-on-year and accounting for 18.6% of total sales. Power battery exports totaled 146.7 GWh, up 52.1%.

Overseas markets are becoming increasingly important for Chinese battery manufacturers. But production growth continuing to outpace both sales and installation demand suggests pressure on pricing and capacity utilization has yet to ease.

Global EV battery market share in H1 2026: CATL 39.9%, BYD 14.4% - CnEVPost

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Battery

Aug 7, 2026