EV battery manufacturers: who makes the cells and packs

The company that makes an EV's cells may be different from the company that assembles its battery pack. Automakers source batteries through specialist suppliers, their own factories and joint ventures, and the cells fitted to a model can change between battery versions.

Market snapshot: January–August 2026; sources checked in October 2026.

Who makes the cells and the pack?

A cell manufacturer turns processed electrode materials and other components into finished electrochemical cells. A pack integrator assembles those cells with the enclosure, electrical connections, cooling and protection systems. The automaker integrates the battery with the vehicle and sets requirements for performance, controls and servicing.

These roles can overlap. A cell supplier may also sell modules or complete packs, while an automaker may design its own pack around purchased cells. That is why a pack assembly label and a cell supplier name can identify different companies.

FinDreams Battery, BYD's battery subsidiary, provides a concrete example. In February 2024, BorgWarner announced an agreement to use FinDreams Blade LFP cells in battery packs for commercial vehicles in specified markets. The agreement also licensed pack design and manufacturing knowledge to BorgWarner: cell supply and pack production were separate parts of the arrangement. BorgWarner — FinDreams cell-supply and pack-licensing agreement (February 2024)

The battery pack chapter explains how these components fit together. The cell formats and cell chemistry chapters cover the physical and electrochemical differences between cells.

The largest suppliers by installed energy

SNE Research recorded 844.2 GWh of battery energy in newly registered battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid vehicles across 80 countries from January through August 2026, up 19.7% year on year. Its release dated 2 October 2026 gives this top ten:

Source and scope: SNE Research — Global EV battery usage, January–August 2026 (2 October 2026). Sunwoda followed in eleventh place with 19.3 GWh.

Installed energy measures cells that have reached registered vehicles. Factory capacity, cell shipments and sales revenue measure different things. A supplier serving large-battery cars can accumulate more GWh than one supplying the same number of smaller-battery vehicles. This is a comparison of commercial scale during the stated period.

CATL and BYD: different business models

CATL supplies multiple vehicle manufacturers. Its work extends into pack integration: its Qilin technology is a cell-to-pack architecture offered with both nickel-based and LFP cells. That makes Qilin a useful example of a supplier's pack design being distinct from the chemistry inside it. CATL — Battery and pack technologies

BYD combines vehicle and battery manufacturing within one group, with FinDreams supplying batteries. Its external supply arrangements, including the BorgWarner agreement described above, show that this business also reaches beyond BYD vehicles. BorgWarner — FinDreams cell-supply and pack-licensing agreement (February 2024)

LG Energy Solution, SK On and Panasonic Energy

LG Energy Solution's commercial-vehicle catalogue illustrates the range one supplier can cover. It lists pouch and cylindrical cells, nickel-based and LFP chemistries, and products at cell, module and pack level for vehicles such as trucks, buses and vans. LG Energy Solution — Commercial EV battery portfolio

SK On is expanding beyond its established pouch-cell business. Ahead of InterBattery 2025, it announced its first cylindrical-cell mock-up and an expanded prismatic-cell exhibit. Its development portfolio also included high-voltage mid-nickel and LFP technologies. The exhibition announcement did not establish that these development products were already in customer vehicles. SK On — InterBattery 2025 development portfolio

Panasonic Energy's automotive business lists the 1865, 2170 and 4680 cylindrical formats. Panasonic Energy — Automotive battery business Its relationship with Tesla is one example of a specialist cell manufacturer supplying an automaker that also pursues its own cell production. IEA — Electric vehicle batteries, Global EV Outlook 2026

CALB, Gotion, EVE and SVOLT

CALB appears in NIO's ET7 manual as a supplier for a 100 kWh battery version, discussed below. NIO — ET7 user manual, high-voltage battery specifications Volkswagen agreed in 2020 to become Gotion's largest shareholder. Their cooperation expanded in 2021 with an agreement for Gotion to support the development and industrialisation of the first generation of Volkswagen's Unified Cell. Volkswagen — Gotion cooperation on cell development and production (July 2021)

EVE Energy lists prismatic LFP, prismatic NCM, pouch NCM and cylindrical EV cells, alongside modules and battery-system development. EVE Energy — Company and power-battery portfolio SVOLT's July 2024 Short Blade presentation covered both LFP and nickel-based products. SVOLT — Short Blade product presentation (July 2024)

Suppliers outside the top ten

A top-ten table is a snapshot of volume, so it leaves out companies with other significant automotive programmes. Samsung SDI, for example, presented prismatic EV-cell technologies at InterBattery 2026. Its separate solid-state programme remained under development in that announcement. Samsung SDI — InterBattery 2026 technology presentation

Automaker partnerships also create suppliers whose names may be less familiar to drivers. Their ownership and responsibilities are explained below.

Automaker-owned production and joint ventures

An automaker can manufacture cells internally while continuing to buy from external suppliers. The IEA reports that Tesla's in-house battery production remains limited and that it continues to source most of its EV batteries from external suppliers including Panasonic, LG Energy Solution and CATL. IEA — Electric vehicle batteries, Global EV Outlook 2026

Volkswagen's PowerCo provides another example. In December 2025, it produced the first NMC Unified Cells at Salzgitter for final road tests. Volkswagen said PowerCo was expected to cover around half of the group's Unified Cell demand, with external suppliers supplying the remainder. The announcement described LFP as a later variant. A shared cell specification can therefore be supported by both internal factories and supplier partnerships. Volkswagen — First PowerCo Unified Cells at Salzgitter (December 2025)

Joint ventures share ownership of a cell business between partners. Toyota and Panasonic announced Prime Planet Energy & Solutions in 2020 to develop and manufacture automotive prismatic batteries for Toyota and other customers. The establishment announcement specified ownership of 51% for Toyota and 49% for Panasonic. Toyota — Establishment of Prime Planet Energy & Solutions (February 2020) General Motors and LG Energy Solution formed Ultium Cells; GM reported pouch-cell production at its Warren and Spring Hill plants in December 2024. General Motors — Ultium Cells joint venture (December 2024)

When identifying a battery, distinguish the joint venture that makes the cells from its owners and from the pack assembler.

Where batteries are made

A battery's origin has several layers: the cell company's headquarters, the cell factory's location, and the origin of the processed materials. A factory operated overseas by an Asian company can supply locally made cells while still relying on imported electrode materials.

The IEA estimates that China produced more than 80% of battery cells in 2025, alongside around 85% of cathode active materials and more than 90% of anode active materials used in electric-car batteries. It also reports that almost all cell production in Europe and the United States was carried out by companies headquartered in Asia. These are production figures, distinct from factory nameplate capacity. IEA — Manufacturing and trade, Global EV Outlook 2026

Nameplate capacity is the output a plant is designed to achieve. PowerCo's December 2025 announcement, for example, set out an initial annual capacity of up to 20 GWh for Salzgitter, to be built up gradually. Volkswagen — First PowerCo Unified Cells at Salzgitter (December 2025)

Actual output depends on bringing equipment, staff and processes up to speed. The IEA notes that reaching close to nominal output can take more than five years after operations begin. Opening a factory therefore does not immediately add its full advertised GWh to vehicle supply. IEA — Electric vehicle batteries, Global EV Outlook 2026

Local production can shorten transport routes and support nearby vehicle factories. The wider material chain still matters when assessing supply dependence. The battery lifecycle chapter follows batteries through repair, second life and recycling.

Why one model can use different cells

NIO's European ET7 manual lists two 100 kWh battery versions. One identifies Jiangsu Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited, a CATL company, as the manufacturer and lists 96 cells; the other identifies CALB and lists 192 cells. The same headline energy capacity therefore accompanies two different cell arrangements in the manufacturer's own documentation. NIO — ET7 user manual, high-voltage battery specifications CATL — Subsidiaries and branches

This example shows why the model name and advertised kWh alone may be insufficient to identify a battery. Production date, market and the battery's identification details can help establish which version is fitted. A teardown or workshop document is strongest when its vehicle and battery scope are known.

For vehicle-level performance and ownership terms, see the battery charging and battery warranty chapters.

Inside a cell factory

This January 2024 video from Everything Electric / Fully Charged follows Elliot Richards through a CATL cell factory in China. It shows the equipment and manufacturing stages discussed in this chapter. Everything Electric / Fully Charged — CATL factory tour (January 2024)