SMA, ABB, and Omron lead global photovoltaic (PV) inverter market-share rankings; however, over the first three quarters of 2014, China-based telecommunications company Huawei made the largest gain in global market share, with just over 2-percentage points (2pp) growth, according to the latest report from the power and energy service of IHS Technology.
"Global PV inverter supplier rankings have changed substantially over the past 12 months, led by large gains from Japanese, Chinese and module-level power electronic suppliers," said Cormac Gilligan, senior analyst for PV inverter research at IHS.
Despite SMA and ABB maintaining their first and second market-share rankings, both companies' market share for the first three quarters of 2014 has declined, with SMA declining by 6pp and ABB by just over 1pp, due to SMA's limited market share in China and Japan, as well as a rapid decline in ABB shipments to Germany, Italy and other key European markets. Strong price declines on inverters in some key markets has also exacerbated this market-share erosion, IHS indicated.
Huawei's growth in global market share is largely attributed to gains in the domestic China market, where the company has quickly become one of the leading suppliers, IHS noted. Total inverter shipments in China increased steadily in the third quarter of 2014 to reach 4.8 gigawatts (GW); TBEA Sunoasis, Sungrow and other China-based inverter suppliers have also benefited from the surge in domestic shipments.
"Suppliers with a major presence in the United States, Japan, China, and other high-growth markets were some of the biggest year-over-year gainers, while those who were heavily reliant on Germany, Italy, and other countries that previously led the market lost considerable market share," Gilligan said.
In terms of revenues, Japan is the largest global PV inverter market, IHS said. Because it currently has the highest inverter prices globally, domestic suppliers have increased their global market share substantially, by maintaining a strong position in their domestic market.
Both leaders of the microinverter and power optimizer markets, Enphase and SolarEdge, sustained their strong market share growth, due to robust demand for their technology in the US, Europe and in other international markets, IHS noted.
Schneider Electric is the only European supplier to gain considerable market share globally over the last year, due to its increasing market position in the UK, France and other key European markets, as well as its growing presence in Japan and India. As a result, the company has made the third largest global market share gain in the first three quarters of 2014, increasing its market share by nearly 2pp, according to IHS.
