China EV battery installations hit 87.2 GWh in September, a new 2026 high, but growth slows again

• China's EV battery installations rose 14.7% year-on-year in September, with growth slowing for the second consecutive month.
• LFP battery installations rose 19.9% year-on-year, accounting for 85.5% of the total, while ternary battery installations fell 10.9%.

China's EV battery installations reached a fresh high for the year for the second consecutive month in September, but annual growth slowed further, with lithium iron phosphate batteries continuing to drive most of the increase.

Domestic EV battery installations totaled 87.2 GWh in September, up 14.7% year-on-year and 10.4% from August, according to data released Thursday by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA).

The figure surpassed August's 79.0 GWh to set a new monthly high for the year, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

However, annual growth slowed from 33.5% in July and 26.3% in August to its lowest level since April.

Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery installations reached 74.5 GWh in September, up 19.9% year-on-year and 10.3% month-on-month, also marking a high for the year.

LFP batteries accounted for 85.5% of total installations, slightly below August's record 85.6%, ending a run of 3 consecutive months of record market share.

Ternary battery installations totaled 12.3 GWh in September, down 10.9% year-on-year but up 11.7% month-on-month, ending 3 consecutive months of sequential declines.

Their share edged up to 14.1% from 14.0% in August, but remained well below the year-earlier level.

In the first 9 months of the year, domestic EV battery installations totaled 576.3 GWh, up 16.7% year-on-year, slightly slower than the 17.0% growth recorded in the first 8 months.

LFP battery installations reached 477.2 GWh over the period, up 18.5% year-on-year and accounting for 82.8% of the total. Ternary battery installations totaled 97.9 GWh, up 7.3%, with a 17.0% share.

CABIA said growth in installations during the first 3 quarters was supported by the expansion of commercial new energy vehicles (NEVs) and higher battery capacity per NEV, with battery-electric trucks and special-purpose vehicles making significant contributions.

Alongside the increase in installations, combined production of power and energy storage batteries reached 237.8 GWh in September, up 57.3% year-on-year and 0.3% month-on-month.

Combined sales of the 2 battery categories totaled 222.7 GWh, up 52.0% year-on-year but down 0.2% from August. Sales growth for energy storage batteries continued to significantly outpace that of power batteries.

Power battery sales reached 149.2 GWh, up 35.0% year-on-year, while energy storage battery sales rose 104.4% to 73.5 GWh, accounting for 33.0% of total sales.

Combined exports of power and energy storage batteries totaled 44.0 GWh in September, up 64.5% year-on-year and 3.7% month-on-month, equivalent to 19.7% of sales.

Power battery exports reached 28.4 GWh, up 60.9% year-on-year and 14.9% month-on-month. Energy storage battery exports totaled 15.6 GWh, up 71.4% year-on-year but down 11.9% from August.

In the first 9 months, combined exports of the 2 categories reached 302.9 GWh, up 51.6% year-on-year. Power battery exports rose 54.7% to 199.7 GWh, while energy storage battery exports increased 45.9% to 103.2 GWh.

CABIA said power battery exports grew faster than energy storage battery exports in the first 3 quarters, mainly driven by rising vehicle exports and automakers' overseas factories gradually starting production.