CHINESE battery giant CATL on Tuesday (Jul 25) recorded a 63.22 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter, as the company scrambled to maintain its industry leadership amid intensifying competition in the electric vehicle (EV) battery market.

Net profit for the three months ended June came in at 10.895 billion yuan (S$2 billion), up 63.22 per cent from a year earlier, according to a Reuters calculation based on CATL’s company filing.

This compared to a 558 per cent surge in its net profit in the first quarter.

China’s battery makers including CATL are facing challenges of weakening demand and bigger cost reduction pressure from EV makers amid a price war and a slowdown in auto sales this year.

The EV battery market grew at a much slower pace this year with a 36.8 per cent increase in battery installation volume in the first half compared with the 176.4 per cent growth in the same period in 2022, data from China Automotive and Battery Alliance showed.

CATL, which counts Tesla as its biggest client, has been losing market share to BYD, a major automaker that powers all its EVs with its own batteries.

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Automakers such as Chongqing Changan Automobile and Guangzhou Automobile Group also sourced more batteries from smaller suppliers to reduce costs. REUTERS