According to IHS the top five photovoltaic (PV) inverter suppliers' rankings remained largely unchanged in 2014; however, the combined share of European suppliers SMA and ABB declined 4 percent, while Japanese suppliers Omron, TMEIC and Tabuchi gained 3 percent, due to the strength of their domestic market. The overall global PV inverter market shrank more than 4 percent in 2014 to reach $6.6 billion, as intense price competition continued and demand shifted further toward lower-priced markets.

Market leader SMA continued to lose share in 2014, and the company's market share is now half of what it was in 2012 and 25 percentage points lower than in 2009. Despite remaining the largest supplier globally, SMA has lost market share for five consecutive years.

"Due to global demand shifting toward Asian markets, if suppliers maintained their current market share in each country this year, it is possible that we would see a new global market leader," said Cormac Gilligan, senior analyst, solar supply chain, IHS.

"In fact, for the first time on record, SMA could be displaced as the leading PV inverter supplier, if not in terms of revenue, then quite possibly in terms of MW shipments."

Despite the seismic demand shift toward Asia, Chinese suppliers experienced a big gain in megawatt (MW) shipment market share; however, those gains did not translate into increases in global revenue share. Average prices in China averaged $0.07 per watt (W) in 2014 compared to $0.16/W globally, which has slowed Chinese vendors' revenue share gains.

The PV Inverter Market Tracker provides new forecasts and supplier market shares for the global inverter market, highlighting the opportunities and challenges that will face inverter makers over the next five to 10 years.