The Asia Pacific (APAC) region was the destination for 69% of the 589GW solar PV inverters shipped in 2024, according to a report from research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Led by China, the APAC region accounted for nearly all of the 10% annual growth in inverter shipments last year, with demand in both Europe and the US declining.
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China accounted for more than half of the global demand with 330GW, representing a 14% increase from 2023.
Wood Mackenzie’s report also looked at the supply side. For a tenth consecutive year, Chinese PV inverter providers Huawei and Sungrow have ranked first and second. The two companies have combined for more than half (55%) of the global inverter market. It is a market that has been dominated by Chinese headquartered companies, who account for nine out of the ten top global solar PV inverter vendors.
Joseph Shangraw, research associate at Wood Mackenzie, said that both Huawei and Sungrow “achieved their highest ever market shares in 2024”. Shangraw added that Huawei shipped 176GW of PV inverters last year with “strong performances in China, Europe, Latin America and Africa”, while Sungrow delivered 148GW PV inverters. According to Shangraw, Sungrow ranked behind Huawei in both China and Europe but was the leading company in the US, as well as India and the Middle East, two markets that are rapidly growing.
The dominance of these two companies marked an end of other companies achieving a global market share of more than 5%. This is the first time in 10 years that it has happened, said Wood Mackenzie. Ginlong Solis remained in third place for a third year in a row, while Growatt rose to fourth position.
Residential solar drives inverter shipments down in Europe and US
The decrease in PV inverters shipped last year to both Europe and the US comes from weaker market in the residential segment. In Europe, residential solar and commercial solar experienced a double digit percentage decline in 2024, due to distribution channels remaining with an excess inventory throughout most of the year. This has especially impacted the Netherlands and Germany, said Wood Mackenzie.
Moreover, the decline in the US was not has steep as in Europe with a single digit percentage decline that was caused by a weakening residential solar market and a slow year for central inverter shippments.
“The US residential inverter segment experienced its second straight annual decline, as new installations have slowed nationwide,” said Shangraw, adding: “Interest rates for loans remain high, and California demand fell as net metering compensation switched to the less favourable NEM 3.0.”
