The explosion of electric vehicles: Opportunity or Challenge for Vietnam's battery market

The global battery market is expected to grow significantly in the future. One of the main factors is the significant growth in the development of electric cars and clean vehicles at the same time that many major car manufacturers are planning to withdraw from the production of gasoline-powered cars. In addition, currently, countries are increasingly focusing on reducing emissions and using clean energy sources. This leads to rising demand for batteries to power these vehicles.

According to a recent report, by 2030, the demand for batteries (based on electrical capacity) is predicted to increase from the current level of 700 GWh/year to 4,700 GWh/year, with a growth rate average of about 30%/year. Of this, the demand for vehicles accounts for the majority, the rest is for applications such as energy storage batteries and batteries for entertainment electronic devices.

In the battery market in Vietnam, the consolidated growth rate (CAGR) is expected to reach more than 7% in the period from 2022 to 2027. The majority of Vietnamese battery products belong to the lead-acid battery segment, this will lead to major challenges when competing with Lithium batteries (the main battery technology used in electric vehicles). However, currently, to produce an electric car with a large lithium battery that can generate power from 400 - 800V, manufacturers still need conventional 12V lead-acid batteries to operate the vehicle equipment such as lights, horns, in-car screens, windshield wipers, electric seats, and decorative lights,...

Therefore, this is still considered an opportunity for battery manufacturers in Vietnam such as PINACO, LE LONG, RITAR, and CSB,... to continue production while also redirecting resources and developing technology about other advanced batteries to meet market changes. It is expected that in the future, lead-acid batteries (in automobile and motorbike applications) will still be the type of battery that dominates the market, along with the increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (used in electric vehicles) domestically will promote the battery market in Vietnam.

KUNG LONG

Kung Long Company is known as the factory that produces the Globe battery brand. Established in 1990, with more than 30 years of development, the company has now affirmed its position in the market. Kung Long has the first battery factory in Taiwan. After many years of development, the company has expanded to 2 more facilities in Vietnam and sells many main items such as batteries used in renewable energy storage systems, batteries used for telecommunication computer rooms, communication equipment, and exchangers, batteries used for UPS, batteries used for electric vehicles and batteries used for starting. 

Regarding the business situation in the three years 2020-2022, although there was a slight decrease in 2021 in both net revenue and profit after tax, KUNG LONG quickly regained strong growth in 2022, standing at revenue of more than VND 5.2 trillion with a profit of nearly VND 260 billion, 3-7% higher than in 2020.

Some battery products of companies in the Vietnamese market

CSB

CSB batteries are products manufactured by Guangzhou Hengda Tuyou Co., Ltd., established in 1986 years as the sole owner of the world-famous brand "JAPATOYO" (Toyo). 

The company mainly produces batteries and electrical products related to UPS batteries, DC monitors, chargers, inverters, charging and discharging machines, and solar controllers, and exports to Europe, America, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia, to provide users with high-quality products and good service quality. CBS's net revenue tends to grow quite steadily each year. 

In 2022, the brand's net revenue reached nearly VND 3.5 trillion. However, contrary to the net revenue trend, the company's after-tax profit situation fluctuated strongly. After profits plummeted to negative levels in 2021, by 2022, profits quickly recovered, achieving more than VND 240 billion.

PINACO

Southern Battery Joint Stock Company (PINACO) was established in 1976, and equitized in 2004 (Stock code: PAC). After more than 45 years of construction and development, PINACO is proud to be the leading enterprise in Vietnam in the field of manufacturing and trading battery products with battery lines for cars, trucks, and electric vehicles, and the famous brand Eagle Battery. 

The growth trends of PINACO's net revenue and profit after tax were the opposite. While profit after tax showed signs of a slight decrease in 2022, net revenue still maintained positive growth year over year, reaching revenue of nearly VND 3.4 trillion in 2022.

Net revenue of some manufacturing battery brands in the Vietnamese market 

(Source: Vietdata)

RITAR POWER

Ritar Power (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. is a company with 100% capital from Hong Kong, specializing in manufacturing batteries. Products are widely used in energy storage systems, electric power, information energy, light electric vehicles (LEV), uninterruptible power supply systems (UPS), battery backup information systems, automatic control, radio and television, communication stations, and solar power, wind power and also other industries, exported to more than 100 other countries and regions around the world. 

Ritar Power had net revenue growing quite steadily year after year. In 2022, the brand's net revenue reached more than VND 3 trillion. However, contrary to the net revenue trend, the company's after-tax profit situation fluctuated dramatically. After profits went down 50% in 2021, the profit situation showed positive signs in 2022, recording nearly VND 460 billion.

GS

GS Battery Vietnam Co., Ltd. is a 100% foreign-owned company, a joint venture between GS-YUASA Group - Asia's leading lead-acid battery manufacturer specializing in producing all kinds of batteries for cars, machines, with GS Battery Company in Taiwan and MITSUBISHI Corporation - the largest commercial corporation in Japan. 

Established on May 12, 1997, in Vietnam, the company has continuously expanded its product lines and built a distribution agent system spanning all provinces and cities nationwide to promptly consult, serve, and meet the needs of all customers. 

In the period 2020-2022, GS's net revenue tended to grow quite stably. While net revenue had a slight increase tendency from 9-13% each year, profit after tax changed continuously, mainly fluctuating around a profit of about VND 300 billion/year.

LEOCH

Leoch Super Power (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. is a 100% foreign-owned enterprise invested by Leoch International Holdings Singapore Co., Ltd. and registered in Vietnam, established in May 2017. The company is located in the Singapore Area, Becamex Industrial Park, Chon Thanh District, Binh Phuoc Province, investment capital of USD 20 million, has about 2,000 employees, mainly producing and trading all kinds of batteries - batteries and batteries for cars with an annual output of sealed lead acid batteries is 30,000 tons, and annual sales are USD 100 million. 

Leoch Super Power (Vietnam) saw revenue growth in 2022 but profits trended negative. Specifically, the brand's revenue went up nearly 40% from 2021 to 2022, reaching nearly VND 2.6 trillion. Meanwhile, the company's profit after tax was not positive, recording a decrease of 11 times in 2022.

HENG LI

JIANGXI Heng Li Battery Technology Co., Ltd. was established in July 2002 with a registered capital of CNY 100 million in Jiangxi province, China. The company's main business is sales and production of lead-acid batteries and related accessories. 

Following the same trend as many other businesses, HENG LI's revenue achieved steady growth each year and had a breakthrough in 2022, standing at more than VND 2 trillion. Regarding profit after tax, although the brand decreased slightly in 2021, it quickly rebounded, reaching more than VND 420 billion, nearly double the profit in 2020.

CENTER POWER TECH

Vietnam Center Power Tech Co., Ltd. was established in 2007 in Nhon Trach 2 Industrial Park, Dong Nai province, and is a subsidiary of Vision Group headquartered in Shenzhen, China. 

Center Power Tech specializes in manufacturing battery products used in industry and telecommunications, is a leading enterprise in the industry with a large production scale with 4 main product lines: AGM, Deep Cycle, GEL and pure lead batteries, VISION, and SENRY branded products are copyrighted by Vision Group. 

With a large export market network, products are delivered to more than 100 countries and are used in fields such as UPS, telecommunications, solar energy systems, wind energy, electricity, electric vehicles, motorbikes, photovoltaics, electronics, and digital. Products bring customers diverse experiences with modern technical applications and services. 

CENTER POWER TECH's business situation had a downtrend in 2021 in terms of both net revenue and profit after tax, but the company has quickly developed stably again in 2022, reaching net revenue of nearly VND 1.4 trillion with a profit of VND 130 billion.

ENIMAC

Eni-Florence Battery Joint Stock Company is an enterprise specializing in the production of high-quality batteries such as traditional batteries, and sealed batteries for various purposes such as civil use, motorbikes, cars, and boats. After more than 10 years of labor and development, Eni-Florence company has increasingly asserted its position in the field of battery production and business with 4 famous product lines: Enimac, Troy, ONE, HB. 

ENIMAC's revenue and profit after tax recorded a growth trend each year. However, unlike the stable growth of net revenue with an increase of about 17-21% per year, profit after tax reached a remarkable go up from about VND 200 million in 2020 and 2021 to VND 4 billion in 2022.

Profit after tax of some producing battery brands in the Vietnamese market 

(Source: Vietdata)

VISION

VISION GROUP was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Shenzhen - China. This is one of the first companies to develop and commercialize sealed valve lead-acid batteries under the brand name VISION worldwide. Strategic products are divided into two types: sealed valve lead-acid batteries and Lithium-ion batteries. AGM technology sealed valve lead batteries, Deep discharge battery series, Pure lead series, Gel batteries, Lithium batteries, Lithium Manganese oxide, and Lithium iron phosphate. 

With more than 20 years of development, VISION has three industrial centers in Shenzhen, Hubei, and Vietnam. In addition, VISION also has a European branch, a subsidiary in the US, a representative office in India, and a worldwide sales and service system in more than 100 countries. 

In 2021, VISION recorded a sharp downward trend in both net revenue and profit after tax. However, the brand quickly developed again in 2022 and achieved business results nearly 2 times higher than in 2020 with VND 470 billion in revenue and nearly VND 9 billion in profit after tax.

HABACO

Hanoi Battery Joint Stock Company (PHN) was formerly known as Van Dien Battery Factory, built in 1960. The company's main activities are in the field of manufacturing and trading batteries with a production capacity of over 450 million products per year. In addition, HABACO is also the exclusive distributor of GP brand battery products in the Vietnamese market. 

HABACO had net revenue growing steadily each year, with a growth rate of 5% per year. In 2022, the brand's net revenue reached nearly VND 370 billion. However, contrary to the trend of net revenue, ending 2022, profit after tax declined slightly, reaching just over VND 30 billion but still higher than the profit in 2020.

TIBACO

Tia Sang Battery Joint Stock Company Hai Phong was formerly known as Tam Bac Battery Factory, established on September 2, 1960, then changed its name to Tia Sang Battery Company in May 1993. 

With a diverse product line of over 120 types of lead-acid batteries, TIBACO's products always have a reputation for stable quality and are widely distributed throughout provinces and cities nationwide. In addition, the brand's products are also exported to countries such as Korea, the Philippines, Cambodia, Sweden, England, Angola, and Venezuela. 

In 2022, TIBACO recorded a slight downward trend with net revenue reaching about VND 160 billion, lower than the figure of about VND 180 billion in the previous two years. Meanwhile, the brand's after-tax profit fluctuates year by year, around VND 4 billion/year.

In summary, the lead-acid battery segment in automotive starting (SLI) applications, remains the main source of revenue and dominates the market with more than 60%. However, the emergence of lithium-ion battery technology, especially through projects such as VinFast's battery factory, is expected to be a strong driver for innovation and development in the industry. This also drives a positive trend for the battery market, as electric vehicles and renewable energy become increasingly important in the context of Vietnam's sustainable development. 

Source: Vietdata’s 2022 Manufacturing Battery Market Report