YINGLI IS THE NEW WORLD LEADER IN SUN

China’s Yingli Tops PV Module Supplier Rankings in 2012; Suntech Slips to Fifth

April 11, 2013 (IHS iSuppli)

“Yingli…became the largest global supplier of photovoltaic (PV) modules in 2012 based on annual merchant shipments, while previous leader and besieged fellow Chinese producer Suntech Power dropped to fifth place…In a year that proved very challenging for the entire PV industry, Yingli managed to increase its merchant shipment volumes by 43 percent year-over-year to leapfrog…the two largest suppliers of 2011. First Solar managed to defend its position as the No. 2 module manufacturer, while Suntech…[fell to] fifth…behind Trina Solar and Canadian Solar. REC, the only Top 10 supplier headquartered in Europe, grew faster than most of its Chinese competitors in 2012…

“Although the PV industry is consolidating and many players have exited the business, many of the Top 10 module suppliers lost market share in 2012. While the Top 10 in 2011 had accounted for 46% of global module shipments, the group last year only achieved a combined share of 40 percent…[Only Canadian Solar, Jinko Solar, Hanwha SolarOne, Yingli and REC grew] merchant module shipments at a double-digit rate in 2012…[while global] PV end markets increased by a robust 14 percent in 2012…”

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“…On March 20, 2013, [Suntech’s] manufacturing unit…announced insolvency…[Those] gaining share from the Top 10 companies were the large, but not yet leading, players that continued to aggressively scale up their operations during a phase of general pessimism…Japanese suppliers Solar Frontier and Kyocera expanded output and shipments massively…Solar Frontier climbed from No. 14 in 2011 to 11th place in 2012…Kyocera rose from No. 17 to No. 12…Strong performance was also recorded for Chinese suppliers Renesola, Astronergy, Hareon Solar, and JA Solar, increasing module shipments by more than 200 MW for each…

“Until 2011 it was sufficient for the leading module suppliers to focus on very few key markets in the world—above all on Germany and Italy…[T]his situation has changed…Yingli generated 24 percent of its 2012 revenue in China. Jinko is another winner in this market…while also building up a strong presence in South Africa…Canadian Solar generated 26 percent of 2012 sales in the U.S. market and is [strong] in Japan…U.S. supplier First Solar…is anchoring itself to the Latin America market…”

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