Huawei, Sungrow control 44% of PV inverter market in 2021

Chinese solar inverter makers Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd (SHE:300274) ranked first and second respectively for the seventh year running in the chart of photovoltaic (PV) inverter vendors in 2021, Wood Mackenzie said today.

Huawei kept its market share at 23%, while Sungrow expanded its footprint to about 21% from approximately 19% in 2020. Another Chinese firm, Growatt, took the third place from Germany’s SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92), controlling 7% of the market. SMA fell down to sixth position. In contrast, GoodWe Technologies Co Ltd (SHA:688390) climbed four positions to be the fifth largest supplier last year thanks to large shipments to the Asia Pacific region, mainly China and South Korea.

Israeli-backed SolarEdge Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SEDG) joined the top 10, ranking ninth, with its sales focused on the European market.

According to WoodMac, the world’s PV inverter shipments increased 22% to 225,386 MW in 2021 from the previous year, spurred by growth in Europe, India and Latin America.

The top 10 vendors accounted for 82% of the market, strengthening their grip by 2 percentage points compared to 2020.

“Despite soaring raw material prices, supply chain challenges and delayed constructions, global PV inverter shipments continue to rise. Leading vendors have become bigger, and the top players continue to consolidate market share in 2021,” commented Wood Mackenzie research analyst Annie Rabi Bernard.

More than half of total 2021 shipments, 116,064 MWac, were in the Asia Pacific, with demand increasing in China, India and Australia.

The European market surged 52% year-on-year to 50,770 MWac, which represents 23% of global shipments, while the US showed a slight fall and accounted for 14% of the global market. Spanish-headquartered Power Electronics remains the leading inverter supplier in the US.

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