Wood Mackenzie Names Its Top 10 Inverter Brands
By Aniket Bhor on in Solar Technology
An inverter is the unsung hero of a solar power system. It does most of the heavy lifting in any setup, and also requires a fairly complicated manufacturing process. This is why a ranking of the world’s top 10 inverter brands is a particularly interesting list, especially when it is created by Wood Mackenzie.
Wood Mackenzie is a global research and consultancy company operating in the energy, renewable energy, and natural resources sectors. It has been conducting research for over half a century and is widely regarded as one of the most reputable research firms.
Alright, let’s see which brands Wood Mackenzie puts in the top 10.
The top spot in the ranking is tied between Huawei and Sungrow, both of which are now household names, thanks to record-breaking efficiencies and pioneering tech. This is followed by European stalwarts SMA and Fronius at numbers three and four.
At numbers five and six are reputable Chinese brands Ginlong/Solis and GoodWe. Ginlong claims to be the world’s third-largest inverter maker, while GoodWe is also a leading global brand with R&D facilities and offices worldwide.
Number seven is again a tie between SolarEdge, a 20-year-old brand offering top-tier inverters, and TMEIC, a Japanese joint venture between Toshiba and Mitsubishi, two of the nation's biggest names in electronics.
The last two spots are claimed by Aiswei/Solplanet and Enphase. Formerly a Chinese subsidiary of SMA, Aiswei is now an independent brand that regularly ranks among the top 10 inverter suppliers by volume. Enphase, on the other hand, has single-handedly ruled the microinverter market for many years now.
How Wood Mackenzie Ranked the Brands
More often than not, we subconsciously think a top brand means one that holds the largest market share, but there are several other important factors requiring consideration. Wood Mackenzie’s ranking emphasizes the following criteria (along with the percentage weightage for each):
- ESG/CSR (30%)
- After-sales service (15%)
- R&D (15%)
- Supply chain stability (15%)
- Capacity utilization (10%)
- Certifications (5%)
- Financial conditions (5%)
- Manufacturing experience (5%)
Aside from this ranking, Wood Mackenzie also has its own grading system for manufacturers, and each of the top 10 inverter makers above is grade A certified. The ranking measured the performance of 23 leading manufacturers from seven countries.
These 23 companies accounted for approximately 90% of global shipment volumes in 2024. As for the top 10, they collectively held 71% market share.
Key Takeaways From the Rankings
Chinese Brands Dominate the Chart
As is the case with solar panels (and nearly everything else today!), Chinese brands seem relentless when it comes to solar inverters. If you look at the chart again, you’ll notice that five out of the 10 top inverter companies are Chinese. Even the top spot goes to two China-based brands.
This is not surprising, given China’s dominance in the solar market in recent years. For instance, China’s global share in the manufacturing of solar components is 80%. As for inverters, China supplies over 60% of the world’s solar inverters.
The factors driving China’s dominance in the solar industry are its massive state support, long-term planning, and cheaper labour (sometimes, sadly, even forced labour).
ESG Initiatives Count
If you scroll up a little and see the weighted criteria that Wood Mackenzie uses to rank the brands, you’ll notice, with a bit of surprise, that ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) have a weightage of 30%.
On the other hand, after-sales service and financial conditions have a much lower weightage of 15% and 5%, respectively. This is an interesting conundrum. From a buyer’s point of view, the manufacturer’s after-sales service may hold more importance than whether the company engages in social and environmental initiatives.
Timothy Shen, Senior Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, put it this way: “Increasingly, competitive advantage is defined not just by shipment volume, but by capabilities across pioneering Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives, service quality, and stable supply chains.”
In our opinion, both ESG/CSR and after-sales service are crucial, and perhaps it would have been a good idea to have a smaller gap between the percentage weightage of both.
Innovation a Key Factor
One may argue that the inverter industry is facing an innovation plateau. All the major breakthroughs have already been achieved, and we are unlikely to see any fundamentally big changes in how inverters perform. And yet, thankfully, the ranking still places significant importance on innovation.
The ranking gives 15% of the points to R&D. According to Wood Mackenzie, innovation remains a key competitive differentiator, despite pricing pressure. Eight of the top 10 inverter manufacturers reinvest more than 6% of revenue into Research & Development.
Geography Matters
The world is more global than ever. Almost everything you own was made somewhere far away and brought to you. And at any given moment, more than 50,000 cargo ships are sailing on the vast oceans of our planet. This fact may suggest that local manufacturing is no longer a big deal, but you’d be wrong to think so.
Especially in the solar industry, we’ve seen terrible logistics problems in the past. At times, customers have had to wait weeks, even months, for some component to be shipped to them. And let’s not even bring up the Suez Canal fiasco.
This is exactly why Wood Mackenzie considers regional facilities an important factor of consideration. As per its report, four of the top 10 manufacturers now provide global production coverage, with facilities spanning China, Europe, India, the US, Southeast Asia, and Israel.
As Timothy Shen rightly puts it, “This strategic positioning allows manufacturers to comply with local content requirements and navigate import barriers while maintaining their supply reliability.”
No Shortcut to Strong Warranties
About 10 years ago, working as a sales guy, I was boasting to a prospective client about how their solar panels would last at least 25 years, and then they asked me about the inverter. The inverter we were quoting had an unimpressive 5-year warranty and cost well over a thousand dollars.
The idea that the customer would potentially need to replace the inverter multiple times over the system’s lifespan sounded uninspiring, and that was when I realized the importance of inverter warranties. Naturally, Wood Mackenzie knows this and has a decent number of points reserved for warranties.
All of the 10 manufacturers on the list above offer warranty extensions of 20 years or more. For a customer, this creates a sense of “fit-and-forget” towards their systems, offering much-needed confidence and peace of mind.
Final Thoughts
The competition in the inverter market gets more cutthroat each day, but the biggest names are those that focus on more than just shipment volumes. They are mindful of ESG/CSR initiatives and also focus on regional facilities. They have a full realisation of the power of warranties, and strive to offer an after-sales service that beats most other players.
If you are a buyer planning on getting a solar panel system, the above list is a good collection of names you should explore. We recommend balancing the pricing, warranties, and features in a way that suits you best, and when making a final decision, it’s always wise to speak to multiple installers.