S. Korea's rechargeable battery exports up 2.9% to 7.2 trillion won in 2020

South Korea shipped 7.2 trillion won worth of rechargeable batteries overseas last year, up 2.9 percent from the year before.

Lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) surged 10.6 percent on-year to 1.3 trillion won last year, to account for the bulk of the rechargeable battery exports.

It marked the fifth consecutive year for the country's rechargeable battery export to increase.

Consequently, the global market share of the country's three major rechargeable battery makers, Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, and SK Innovation, jumped from 16 percent by end of November 2019 to 34 percent in the same period last year.

Last year, South Korea's rechargeable battery production increased 20 percent on-year to 23.3 trillion won as domestic demand soared 11.6 percent to 5.3 trillion won.

South Korea's rechargeable batteries exports are projected to increase 5.7 percent on-year to $7 billion this year.

Production is forecast to soar 32 percent to 31 trillion won, while domestic demand is expected to soar 19.8 percent to 6.3 trillion won with the launching of new EV models.

The country's local EV production surged nearly 34 percent last year.