Huawei, Sungrow Extend Decade-long Lead in Global Inverter Race Again

• Wood Mackenzie report shows Huawei and Sungrow tightening control of a record 589 GWac inverter market as Asia surges and Europe, U.S. shipments falter

Global demand for solar-power hardware shows few signs of slowing. Wood Mackenzie’s newest inverter market report says shipments rose 10 % in 2024 to an all-time high of 589 GWac, fuelled by rapid installation booms across China, India and the Gulf, even as European and U.S. sales eased.

Chinese firms now account for nine of the world’s ten biggest suppliers, a stark illustration of the nation’s manufacturing muscle. Industry stalwarts Huawei and Sungrow topped the leaderboard for the tenth straight year and tightened their grip in the process. The pair shipped a combined 324 GWac—roughly 55 % of all inverters sold—each posting its highest share on record.

Huawei widened its margin, delivering 176 GWac thanks to strong utility-scale demand at home and brisk growth in Latin America, Africa and parts of Europe. Sungrow followed with 148 GWac, retaining second place globally while leading shipments in the United States, India and the Middle East, where project pipelines are expanding quickly on the back of favourable policy and record-low power-purchase prices.

Just behind the front-runners, Ginlong Solis defended third position, while Growatt reclaimed fourth after slipping a year earlier. Both vendors benefited from a rebound in China’s residential market, where homeowners rushed to beat looming subsidy cuts, and from aggressive channel expansion into Southeast Asia.

Regional trends were anything but uniform. Shipments into China climbed 14 % year on year to 330 GWac as massive gigawatt-scale solar complexes came online across desert provinces. In Europe, by contrast, deliveries to distributors tumbled at a double-digit clip after warehouses spent most of the year stuffed with unsold stock. The United States recorded a single-digit decline, weighed down by a sluggish residential segment and deferred utility-scale projects awaiting interconnection.

Looking ahead, Wood Mackenzie expects global demand to remain robust, though growth may pivot back toward emerging markets as mature regions digest inventory. Suppliers able to balance ultralow-cost production with advanced grid-support features and rapid-fire service networks are likely to keep stretching their lead.