Global Battery Sales Surge About 150% In 3 Months: What It Means For EV Stocks

Global electric vehicle battery sales in January, February and Marh increased from 26.8 gigawatt-hours to 65.9 GWh, up 145.9% year-over-year, according to SNE Research.

"The recovery of electric vehicle sales, which has continued since the third quarter of 2020, is accelerating further, and this trend is expected to continue for the time being," the report said.

China's CATL held the pole position, with sales of 21.4GWh capacity, a 285.09% year-over-year increase that outpaced the growth of the overall market. 

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South Korea's LG Energy Solutions was in the second position and sold 14.2 GWh worth of battery capacity in the first four months of the year. Fellow Korean companies Samsung SDI and SK Innovation were in the fifth and sixth positions, respectively. 

Chinese automaker BYD Company Limited BYDDF, in which Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) (NYSE: BRK-A) holds a stake, was ranked fourth.

Why It's Important: EV sales began recovering in late 2020 and at the start of 2021 following a COVID-19-induced slowdown. Improved technological innovations, advances in autonomous driving technology, expanding government initiatives and marketing pushes by EV manufacturers have all worked in unison in reviving sales.

Battery demand can be considered a leading indicator for EV demand. The new data bodes well for EV makers such as Tesla, Inc. TSLA, Nio, Inc. NIO and the like as well as legacy automakers. 

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