In the first half (1H) of 2019, the top five solar inverter manufacturers in China accounted for 36.44% of inverter exports globally from China according to the latest trade data. Huawei, Sungrow, Solis, Goodwe, and Growatt came out as the top five inverter companies in China in 1H 2019.

The first half of 2019 saw China’s PV inverter export volume growth for the third year in a row. Import and export customs data from the first half of 2019 shows that Chinese inverter exports were valued at $1.3 billion, with the top 20 PV inverter companies accounting for nearly 50% of the export value.

“Despite turbulent market conditions for solar inverters since 2018, Ginlong continues to increase year-over-year sales, market share, and export volumes of our Solis string inverter portfolio,” said Ginlong CEO Jimmy Wang. “Our global expansion leverages strategic offices in the U.S., Europe, Australia, India, and Mexico to support our inverter export push going into 2020.”  

According to Mercom’s India 2019 Solar Market Leaderboard, Solis is also one of the major string inverter suppliers in India. The other Chinese suppliers, like Huawei and Sungrow, are also some of the leading inverter suppliers in India.

Top Export Destinations for Chinese Inverter Companies

Half of China’s inverter exports went to five countries — the Netherlands (16%), United States (15%), Vietnam (10%), India (6%), and Germany (5%). The Dutch and U.S. markets have changed positions while the Netherlands, German, and South Korean markets remain unchanged.  On the other hand, the Vietnamese market has seen a decline.

PV inverter giants, Siemens and Schneider, and ABB Group have slowly pulled off the inverter business, leaving a void while Chinese companies continue to expand and consolidate their activities around the world. Mercom reported that in 2018, ABB led the inverter market in India with a 24% market share, followed by Sungrow with 16% and Huawei with 12%.

Image credit: Russell Neches [CC BY 2.0]