Cui Dongshu: From January to April, the overall demand for lithium batteries increased by 51% year-on-year, driven by energy storage and exports.

In January-April 2026, the overall pattern of the lithium battery industry presented a "high total volume, drastic structural changes" pattern, with total demand reaching 671.2 billion watt-hours, a significant increase of 51% compared to the same period last year. The industry growth drivers have shifted from being driven solely by traditional new energy vehicles to being driven by both energy storage and exports: the total demand for new energy vehicles reached 494.3 billion watt-hours, a 41% increase year-on-year, with the growth rate slowing down compared to previous years. On the other hand, demand for energy storage reached 176.9 billion watt-hours, a whopping 90% increase year-on-year, becoming the core engine driving industry growth, with a monthly growth rate in April reaching a staggering 196%. In terms of the proportion of demand, the share of demand from new energy vehicles decreased from 83% in 2025 to 74% in the January-April 2026 period, while the share of demand from energy storage increased from 17% to 26%, signaling a fundamental shift in the industry growth logic. The export sector also showed strong performance, becoming another important support for the industry: the demand for batteries in new energy passenger vehicles exported increased by 111% year-on-year, with a monthly growth rate of 102% in April; customs data showed a 65% increase in exports of lithium-ion batteries, reflecting the continuous strong demand for Chinese lithium batteries in overseas markets. In the domestic market, the demand for batteries in commercial vehicles increased by 50% year-on-year, far exceeding the growth in passenger vehicle retail demand; while passenger vehicle retail demand decreased by 2%, indicating the entry into a stage of inventory competition. Overall, the explosive growth in exports and energy storage scenarios effectively counteracted the slowdown in growth in the domestic retail sector, supporting the industry to maintain a high level of prosperity, while providing lithium battery companies with growth opportunities in diversified scenarios such as global energy storage and overseas automotive exports. 1. Analysis of overall lithium battery demand In January-April 2026, the lithium battery industry has shown a "high total volume, drastic structural changes" pattern, with total demand reaching 671.2 billion watt-hours, a 51% increase year-on-year. The total demand for new energy vehicles reached 494.3 billion watt-hours, a 41% increase year-on-year; energy storage and other demands reached 176.9 billion watt-hours, a significant increase of 90%, becoming the core engine driving industry growth. The year-on-year decline in domestic passenger vehicle retail demand was 2%, but the demand for exports increased by 111%, and the demand for battery exports increased by 65%, showing strong performance in the export sector, with a monthly growth rate in April reaching 8%, a 79% increase, supporting the recovery of demand for batteries. The penetration rate of the domestic new energy passenger vehicle market continues to increase, driving steady growth in retail demand for batteries, providing solid support for the growth of the lithium battery industry. From 2022 to April 2026, the demand for lithium batteries in the retail sector of new energy passenger vehicles continued to show a steady growth trend, with impressive data performance from January to April 2026: 2.974 billion watt-hours in January, 2.25 billion watt-hours in February, 4.029 billion watt-hours in March, and 4.076 billion watt-hours in April, with a significant increase in year-on-year growth, continuing the industry's high level of prosperity. The penetration rate of the domestic new energy passenger vehicle market continues to increase, driving steady growth in battery demand at the retail end, providing solid support for the growth of the lithium battery industry. Overall, the demand for lithium batteries at the retail end of new energy passenger vehicles remained at a high level from 2022 to April 2026, with a total demand of 13.328 billion watt-hours from January to April 2026, a slight decrease of 2% year-on-year; among which, the demand in April was 4.076 billion watt-hours, an 8% increase year-on-year and a 79% increase month-on-month, driven by the recovery of demand in the terminal market. The domestic new energy passenger vehicle market has entered a stage of inventory competition, with a slowdown in growth rate but still at a high level, providing stable basic support for the lithium battery industry. 3. Analysis of lithium batteries for export in new energy passenger vehicles.