The Zhitong Finance App learned that on September 21, the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association issued an article stating that according to customs statistics, China's lithium-ion battery exports from January to August 2026 reached 3.69 billion units, an increase of 22.91% over the previous year; the export value was 67.549 billion US dollars, an increase of 39.9% over the previous year. Among them, the number of exports in a single month in August was 536 million, up 22.9% year on year, the same month on month; export volume was 9.547 billion US dollars, up 33.45% year on year, up 2.1% month on month, continuing the steady growth trend since the first half of the year. The growth rate of export value continues to be higher than the growth rate of export volume, reflecting the continuous increase in the share of high value-added categories among China's lithium-ion battery export products, and the strong growth in exports of high-value products such as energy storage battery systems and high-capacity batteries. Affected by the export tax rebate policy, August continued the previous rhythm of “export grabbing”. Although the growth rate has declined slightly from the first half of the year, the absolute scale of exports is still high.
Germany is China's largest export market for lithium-ion batteries. From January to August 2026, China's exports to Germany reached 9.149 billion US dollars, an increase of 18% over the previous year, accounting for 13.5% of China's total lithium-ion battery exports. As the core hub of Europe's NEV and energy storage industry, Germany has steadily ranked as the largest importer of lithium-ion batteries in China. The US is the second largest export market. From January to August 2026, China's exports to the US amounted to 8.095 billion US dollars, up 9.12% year on year, achieving the first positive year-on-year increase since 2026, accounting for 12% of total exports. This positive growth is mainly driven by three factors: first, the US energy storage market still has a rigid dependence on the Chinese supply chain; second, due to the 301 tariff increase, some importers have increased their procurement and preparation efforts ahead of schedule to avoid the risk of further tax increases; third, some enterprises have indirectly maintained supply channels to the US market through third party transit and other methods. The Netherlands is the third largest export market. China's exports to the Netherlands amounted to US$4.951 billion, an increase of 89.11% over the previous year, accounting for 7.3% of total exports. Dutch exports are growing strongly, and the core driving force comes from the concentrated release of energy storage battery transfer demand: the Dutch port of Rotterdam is the core transit hub for Asian batteries entering Europe, and a large number of Chinese lithium batteries are being transported through the Netherlands to terminal markets such as Germany, France, and Central and Eastern Europe.
The global energy storage market is currently in a stage of explosive growth, and energy storage has become the core driving force for lithium battery exports. Structural drivers of the explosion in energy storage demand include energy storage support demand driven by a surge in global data center computing power, the centralized implementation of large-scale optical storage projects in the Middle East and Australia, and the accelerated expansion of the European industrial and commercial energy storage market. Leading companies such as Ningde Times (03750), Sunshine Power (300274.SZ), and BYD (01211) continue to deepen their global layout, and energy storage orders have always remained full. The high-value nature of energy storage batteries has also further amplified the “price increase” effect where the growth rate of export value exceeds the growth rate of export volume.
From January to August 2026, Guangdong Province was the largest source of lithium-ion battery exports in China, with an export value of US$18.283 billion, an increase of 44.4% over the previous year, accounting for 27.1% of China's lithium-ion battery exports; the export volume was 1,199 million units, an increase of 16.28% over the previous year. Fujian Province ranked second, with an export value of 12.421 billion US dollars, an increase of 2.2% over the previous year, accounting for 18.4% of China's lithium-ion battery exports; the export volume was 250 million units, an increase of 10.3% over the previous year. Jiangsu Province ranked third, with an export value of 8.557 billion US dollars, up 33.7% year on year, accounting for 12.7% of China's lithium-ion battery exports; the export volume was 704 million units, up 15.5% year on year. The three provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangsu together account for 61% of exports, and are the core basic market for China's lithium battery exports.
From January to August 2026, the three provinces with the biggest increase in export value were Chongqing, Tianjin, and Hubei, which increased by 277.09%, 165.08%, and 127.53% respectively; the three provinces and cities with the biggest increase in export volume were Anhui, Hubei, and Zhejiang, which increased 163.98%, 47.73%, and 43.05% respectively.
The geographical pattern of the domestic lithium battery industry is undergoing profound restructuring. On the one hand, with industrial policy support, green power resource endowments, and location channel advantages, lithium battery production capacity continues to be released, and export contributions are increasing rapidly; on the other hand, leading companies are speeding up the layout and construction of factories overseas to meet trade barriers and carbon footprint compliance requirements through localized production capacity layouts. Overall, the expansion of the domestic industrial layout from the coast to the inland is progressing simultaneously with the diversion of overseas production capacity, forming a “internal and external double line” industrial geography restructuring pattern.
In August, lithium battery exports showed the characteristics of stable volume and price increases, European energy storage drive, regional capacity transfer, and diversified market hedging. In the short term, European energy storage orders will still support export resilience, but compliance requirements such as battery passports and traceability of recycled materials proposed by the EU Battery Law will gradually raise the export costs of China's lithium battery products; there is limited room for recovery in the US market, and trade policy uncertainty will persist for a long time. As domestic production capacity continues to spread to the Midwest, the energy storage market will continue to contribute to growth, and subsequent export competition will shift from simple price competition to comprehensive competition in compliance capabilities, product structure, and global market layout.
Table 1 Monthly changes in lithium-ion battery exports from January to August 2026
Table 2 Monthly changes in lithium-ion battery export value from January to August 2026
Table 3 Changes in the top 15 destinations for lithium-ion battery exports from January to August 2026
Table 4 Changes in lithium-ion battery export value in the top 10 provinces and cities from January to August 2026
