Analysis of Core Strategies for Chinese Power Battery Manufacturers to Capture Panasonic's Market Share

Based on the latest industry data and market research, Chinese power battery manufacturers, especially Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), have exerted significant competitive pressure on Panasonic through systematic advantages. The following is an in-depth analysis from two dimensions: cost advantages and technological iteration.

From the 2024 global power battery installed capacity data, the market pattern has undergone a fundamental transformation:

• CATL
  occupies
  37.9%
  of the market share with an installed capacity of
  339.3GWh
  , ranking first globally for 8 consecutive years [1]
• Panasonic
  ’s installed capacity plummeted by
  18%
  year-on-year in 2024, with its market share dropping by
  2.2 percentage points
  , making it the most severely declining among TOP10 enterprises [2]
• Chinese enterprises account for
  6 seats
  in the global TOP10 power battery manufacturers, with a total market share increasing by
  3.7 percentage points
  [1]

This trend of “Chinese advance and Japanese retreat” further intensified in the first 10 months of 2025: CATL’s market share reached

, while Panasonic fell to the 7th position [3].

Chinese power battery enterprises enjoy significant cost advantages, mainly reflected in:

Cost Item	China	US/Germany	Difference
Battery Factory Construction Cost	Approximately $650 million	Approximately $865 million	33% Gap
Labor Cost	Lower	Higher	Significant Difference
Supply Chain Cost	High Localization Degree	Dependent on Imports	Logistics Cost Difference

The proportion of direct material costs of CATL has dropped to

, a year-on-year decrease of , fully reflecting the results of supply chain optimization and scale effect [4].

CATL’s lithium-ion battery sales reached

in 2024, a year-on-year increase of [4]. The scale effect brought by huge shipment volume enables it to:

• Gain stronger bargaining power in raw material procurement
• Allocate fixed costs of R&D and equipment investment
• Achieve production yield rate of
  over 90%
  [5]

CATL has achieved key breakthroughs in lithium iron phosphate technology, leading the industry towards the

direction:

• High Compaction Iron Lithium Technology
  : Compaction density reaches
  2.6g/cm³
  and above, with a premium space of more than 2000 yuan/ton compared to the previous generation products [6]
• Generational Technological Leadership
  : Through innovations such as ferrous oxalate process, it has formed a technical barrier that competitors are difficult to replicate
• Performance Improvement
  : The energy density of LFP batteries continues to increase, and fast charging performance is significantly improved

Korean enterprises only started to catch up on lithium iron phosphate technology recently, but the mass production yield rate is only

, which is significantly different from the level of Chinese leading enterprises [7].

CATL has adopted a forward-looking technical strategy:

Technical Route	Application Scenario	Competitive Advantage
Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)	High-end Energy Storage, Power Battery	Balance of Cost and Performance
Sodium-ion Battery	Low-end Automobile, Base Station Energy Storage	Cost is 20% lower than LFP, excellent low-temperature performance

Sodium-ion batteries have no performance attenuation in -20℃ environment and have obtained orders from

[5].

CATL’s R&D investment reached a record high of

in 2024, supporting the launch of innovative products such as and [4].

Panasonic’s high dependence on Tesla brings huge risks to this single customer model:

• Tesla’s overall sales declined in 2024, directly affecting Panasonic’s battery installed capacity [2]
• The mass production progress of Panasonic’s 4680 large cylindrical battery lags behind; originally planned to convert all 10GWh capacity of the Wakayama factory in 2025, but it was delayed due to verification issues [8]
• The expansion plan of the joint venture factory with Toyota has been forced to be re-examined

Panasonic has long focused on cylindrical battery technical routes and has insufficient layout in square and soft-pack battery fields, leading to:

• Missing some customers pursuing battery system integration efficiency
• Difficulty in competing with Chinese enterprises in cost control
• Over-concentration of R&D resources on a single technical route

Compared with the aggressive expansion of Chinese and Korean enterprises, Panasonic is more conservative in capacity expansion:

• The construction plan of the third battery factory in the US is delayed [7]
• Focus shifts to the second factory in Kansas State (planned capacity of 30GWh)
• The full production plan in 2026 is affected by customer demand uncertainty

Dimension	Advantages of Chinese Enterprises	Disadvantages of Japanese and Korean Enterprises
Cost Control	Low Construction Cost, Mature Supply Chain, Labor Cost Advantage	Cost is 15-20% Higher
Technological Iteration	Parallel Multiple Routes, Leading LFP Technology, Large R&D Investment	Single Route, Slow Transformation
Market Share	Continuously Increasing (38%+)	Continuously Declining (Panasonic Fell to 7th)
Customer Diversification	Covering Global Car Enterprises Such as Tesla, BMW, Volkswagen	Over-reliance on Single Customer
Capacity Expansion	Active Expansion, Global Layout	Cautious Contraction, Delayed Investment

The cost advantages and technological iteration capabilities of Chinese power battery manufacturers are reshaping the global competitive pattern. CATL consolidates its leading position through the following strategies:

1. Technological Innovation Moat
   : Continuous high R&D investment (18.6 billion yuan) ensures generational technological leadership
2. Global Layout
   : For the first time in 2024, its market share in non-Chinese markets exceeded LG Energy Solution [3]
3. Diversified Customer Structure
   : Serving both Chinese car enterprises such as Zeekr and Aito, and international brands such as Tesla and BMW
4. Next-generation Technology Reserve
   : Parallel development of all-solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries

For Japanese and Korean enterprises like Panasonic, it is difficult to reverse the disadvantage in the short term unless they achieve breakthrough progress in next-generation battery technologies (such as all-solid-state batteries) or find new large-scale application scenarios. It is expected that the leading advantage of Chinese power battery manufacturers will further expand in 2025.

---

[1] Securities Times - 《Top 10 Global Power Battery Installed Capacity Released Last Year: Chinese Enterprises Account for 6 Seats, Market Share of Japanese and Korean Enterprises Declines》 (https://www.stcn.com/article/detail/1534081.html)

[2] SNE Research - 《2024 Global Power Battery Installed Capacity Statistics》

[3] Sina Finance - 《SNE Research Heavy Report: Chinese Battery Enterprises Lead Strongly, Market Share of Three Korean Giants》 (https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2025-12-03/doc-infznqyq9692032.shtml)

[4] EDN Electronic Technology Design - 《CATL 2024 Financial Report: Profit Grew Against the Trend》 (https://www.ednchina.com/technews/33000.html)

[5] Fund Supermarket - 《CATL 2025 First Half Performance Review: Steady Growth, All-solid-state Battery Strategic Layout Lays Long-term Advantage》 (https://secure.fundsupermart.com/fsmone/article/rcms334282/2025)

[6] Eastmoney.com - 《Fulin Precision Investment Value Analysis Report: Technological Iteration Shapes New Leader of Iron Lithium》 (https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202504241661432885_1.pdf)

[7] Sina Finance - 《Japanese and Korean Batteries, Hard to Escape the “28 Law”》 (https://finance.sina.com.cn/money/fund/jjzl/2025-08-13/doc-infkvepm1058189.shtml)

[8] Soochow Securities Research Institute - 《Power Battery Industry In-depth Report:先导智能》 (https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202506031684034706_1.pdf)