(Yicai) Nov. 28 -- JEVE, a lithium-ion battery maker backed by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International, will reportedly suspend production from next month after oversupply in the industry forced at least nine of its domestic peers out of business this year.

JEVE’s output stoppage will start on Dec. 1, according to an internal company notice disclosed by financial data provider Lanjinger, which did not specify when the Tianjin-based company will resume production. Non-grassroots workers at its headquarters will be put on leave, while grassroots staff will receive training without needing to work, the report said.

Yicai tried to contact JEVE for comment yesterday, but the phone number provided on its website was disconnected because of unpaid bills.

JEVE’s revenue tumbled 45 percent to CNY488 million (USD68 million) in the first half from a year earlier due to slower growth in the new energy vehicle market, Fosun said in its semi-annual earnings report. Its EV battery shipment shrank 19.3 percent to 0.73 gigawatt hours.

Established in 2009, JEVE has two battery factories in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, and Changxing, a county-level city in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, with an output of 10 GWh. In 2018, it received investment from Shanghai-based Fosun, which owned half of the firm as of June 30.

Overcapacity is driving a shakeout in China’s electric car battery sector. Forty-eight Chinese battery makers had their products installed on vehicles in the first 10 months of this year, compared with 57 at the end of last year, according to data from the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance. 

China’s power battery market is becoming increasingly centered on leading manufacturers. The market share of battery giants Contemporary Amperex Technology and BYD reached 43 and 29 percent, respectively, in the 10 months ended Oct. 31, while that of the top 10 companies in the sector totaled 98 percent, according to the industry group’s data.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev