Growing Electric Vehicle Production and Demand Driving Automotive Lithium-Ion Battery Market

In 2018, the global automotive lithium-ion battery market reached a value of $24.2 billion and is predicted to attain $74.3 billion in 2024, advancing at a 15.9% CAGR during the forecast period (2019–2024). The market is growing due to the falling cost of battery and its components and rising electric vehicle production and demand. A rechargeable battery which comprises a positive and negative electrode that are contacted by a chemical called the electrolyte is referred to as lithium-ion battery. Lithium-ion is allowed to exchange between electrodes because they are separated by a separator.

In terms of battery type, the automotive lithium-ion battery market is divided into lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA), lithium titanate oxide (LTO), lithium manganese oxide (LMO), and lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC).  Among these, the LFP battery type contributed the largest revenue share to the market during the historical period (2014–2018), as these batteries are safer than other type of electric vehicles batteries and have a higher lifespan. The NCA battery type is projected to grow at the fastest pace during the forecast period.

The rising usage of NMC batteries in electric cars is a key trend that is being observed in the automotive lithium-ion battery market. While before a large number of electric vehicle manufacturers made use of LFP batteries, in the recent years, the usage of NMC batteries has increased significantly. This shift from LFP to NMC batteries is due to the rising requirement for higher range in passenger cars from a single charge. In addition to this, these batteries are lighter than LFP batteries and occupy lesser space in the vehicle.

When vehicle type is taken into consideration, the automotive lithium-ion battery market is categorized into commercial vehicle, two-wheeler, and passenger car. Out of these, the passenger car category accounted for the largest share of the market in 2018 and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period as well, in terms of value. This is because the governments in major automobile selling countries, including the U.S. and China, are focusing on producing new energy cars and increasing requirement for fully electric passenger cars with high-range per charge feature.

The surging electric vehicle demand and production is a key driving factor of the automotive lithium-ion battery market. As per the International Energy Agency, the global electric car fleet exceeded 5.1 million in 2018, rising from 2 million in the previous year. Factors such as the rising concerns regarding the environment and fluctuating oil prices are driving the consumers toward alternative to internal combustible engine-powered automobiles. Furthermore, lithium-ion batteries are being considered the standard for modern battery electric vehicles at the present time, as they have excellent specific capacity and energy density.

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Another factor resulting in the growth of the automotive lithium-ion battery market is the falling cost of battery and its components. The prices of lithium-ion battery components, including battery management system, internal wiring, pack housing, internal wing, and pack housing, are reduced considerably and are further projected to decrease in the coming years, thereby making lithium-batteries more suitable and affordable. In addition to this, several automobile companies are investing heavily into pack assembly, which is further making the battery makers to offer lower prices in order to increase their sales.

Hence, the market is witnessing growth due to the rising demand and production of electric vehicles and the falling prices of lithium-ion battery and its components.