Three South Korean electric vehicle battery makers accounted for about a third of the global market in the first eight months of the year, but they are facing toughening competition with Chinese rivals, a market research firm said.

The trio - LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation - accounted for 34.8 percent of the global EV battery market in the January-August period, inching down from 35 percent a year ago, according to the data from SNE Research.

LG Energy Solution, which supplies batteries for EV models by Tesla, Volkswagen and Ford, stayed in second place with a 24.5 percent market share over the period, following China’s CATL with 30.3 percent. (Yonhap)