CATL lifts overseas battery volume 46.7% to 143.7 gigawatt-hours

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited recorded 143.7 gigawatt-hours of battery volume outside China through September 2026, rising 46.7% year on year, industry data compiled Nov. 8, 2026, showed.

The Chinese manufacturer expanded its share of the non-China electric vehicle battery market by 5.1 percentage points to 33.7%. Total battery installations in electric vehicles across markets outside China reached 426.7 gigawatt-hours during the period.

European deliveries drove the expansion. Volume in Europe rose 35.4% to 96.8 gigawatt-hours from 71.5 gigawatt-hours a year earlier, according to the tracking report from SNE Research.

Shipments to other Asian markets outside China reached 27.1 gigawatt-hours, more than doubling from the prior-year level. Demand in European and Asian corridors offset softer electric vehicle momentum in North America.

Adoption of lithium iron phosphate chemistry underpinned the overseas gains. The chemistry, known as LFP, accounted for 27.7% of non-China electric vehicle battery usage, up from 15.8% in the prior-year period.

Carmakers in Europe selected lower-cost LFP packs for entry-level models to counter pricing pressure. In North America, Ford Motor began manufacturing cells utilizing licensed technology from the Chinese battery manufacturer.

South Korean manufacturers ceded share during the nine-month period. Combined volume for LG Energy Solution, SK On and Samsung SDI slipped 13.5% to 113.0 gigawatt-hours across markets outside China.

Utility-scale battery energy storage systems provided a second transmission channel for export volume. Global shipments of lithium-ion energy storage batteries expanded 73% to 779.9 gigawatt-hours through September 2026.

Contemporary Amperex Technology shipped 198.3 gigawatt-hours of energy storage batteries during the nine months. The volume secured a 25.4% share of the global storage market, ranking first among suppliers.

Shipments in the third quarter alone reached 73.3 gigawatt-hours for the company, rising 64% from the corresponding period of 2025. That quarterly total established a historical delivery high.

Grid-connected installations absorbed the bulk of worldwide storage hardware. Central electricity networks took 575.9 gigawatt-hours of storage batteries, representing 73.8% of total global installations across the three quarters.

Financial disclosures reflect the stabilizing role of offshore deliveries. The manufacturer generated 442.1 billion yuan ($61.8 billion) in revenue during the first three quarters, up 56% year on year.

Net profit increased 32% to 64.5 billion yuan ($9.0 billion). Energy storage system sales generated roughly 25% of total battery revenues, cushioning the company against decelerating vehicle demand.

Export pricing supported profitability as domestic price wars deepened inside China. Gross profit margin on overseas sales reached 29.97% during the period, according to company financial disclosures.

The overseas margin surpassed the domestic gross margin of 21.16% by 8.81 percentage points. Premium contract pricing in Western grid projects preserved returns against lower cell prices in Chinese procurement tenders.

Long-term European utility partnerships reinforced the storage pipeline. German energy storage provider INTILION agreed on Oct. 27 to procure 3 gigawatt-hours of containerized TENER storage systems over five years.

The procurement agreement supplies utility-scale grid installations and commercial facilities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The partners previously completed more than 30 joint storage installations in Germany.

The TENER liquid-cooled system delivers 15,000 operational cycles and a 25-year design life. CATL engineered the platform to retain full discharge capacity at temperatures down to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

The manufacturer also introduced an alternative chemistry platform to broaden utility offerings. The TENER Sodium system packages more than 30 megawatt-hours of rated storage capacity into a modular enclosure architecture.

The system operates at 65 decibels, cutting noise by 10 decibels compared to standard installations. The platform shares the physical footprint of lithium iron phosphate units, allowing utilities to avoid enclosure redesigns.

Commercial deployment schedules define the next operational phase. Global deliveries of the modular sodium storage platform begin in June 2027, according to CATL's product deployment schedule.

Industry tracking releases do not state the exact share of energy storage cells within CATL's overseas volume, and the company has not published contract-level pricing for European utility shipments.