NextPower, TrinaTracker and GameChange Among Top 10 In Wood Mackenzie’s Solar Tracker Ranking

US-based NextPower has secured the top position in Wood Mackenzie’s global photovoltaic (PV) tracker manufacturer rankings based on data for the first half of 2025. Chinese manufacturer Trina Tracker ranked second, followed by another US-based firm, Array, in third place. The ranking evaluates 24 leading manufacturers across five countries and reflects a market where adherence to industry best practices has become the primary differentiator.

“Our latest global tracker landscape is led by a group of manufacturers that combine production scale with engineering innovation,” said Timothy Shen, Senior Research Analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “Increasingly, competitive advantage is defined not just by shipment volume, but by capabilities across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives, service quality and resilient supply chains.”

Top 10 global PV tracker manufacturers

According to Wood Mackenzie, the top 10 tracker manufacturers for H1 2025 are:

1. NextPower (USA)

2. Trina Tracker (China)

3. Array (USA)

4. PV Hardware (Spain)

5. Antai (China)

6. GameChange (USA)

7. Versolsolar (China)

8. Solar Steel (Spain

9. 8 (tie). Arctech (China)

10. Soltec (Spain)

The ranking applies a score-based methodology evaluating manufacturers across eight weighted criteria: adherence to ESG and CSR (30%), aftersales service and warranty (15%), research and development (15%), supply chain stability (15%), capacity utilisation (10%), availability of third-party certifications (5%), financial conditions (5%) and manufacturing experience (5%).

Key highlights from the latest ranking include:

• ESG and service emerge as key differentiators: Six of the top 10 manufacturers achieved an EcoVadis bronze rating or higher, placing them among the top 30% of companies globally for sustainability. The highest-ranked firms have also established robust aftersales and warranty frameworks to reduce long-term risks for asset owners.

• Geographic diversification accelerates to mitigate trade risks: Leading manufacturers are increasingly leveraging regionalised assembly to navigate steel price volatility, trade policy uncertainty and logistics disruptions. Chinese OEMs hold four of the top 10 positions and are expanding overseas production to strengthen access to North America, Europe and emerging markets.

• Innovation remains strong despite market consolidation: All top 10 manufacturers have invested in AI-integrated control systems or high-strength materials to address evolving requirements for wind performance and complex terrain.

• Financial stability reinforces market confidence: Eight of the top 10 manufacturers recorded revenue growth in 2024, with listed companies demonstrating stronger financial transparency and stability.

Grade A manufacturers dominate shipments

A key finding from the H1 2025 ranking is that 99% of global tracker shipments now come from Grade A manufacturers — suppliers that meet Wood Mackenzie’s benchmark for industry best practice by satisfying at least five of the defined performance criteria.

The Grade A tracker manufacturer list includes Antai, Arctech, Array, Axial, ESET, Flexrack, GameChange, Guoqiang, Ideematec, NextPower, Powerway, PV Hardware, Schletter, Solar Steel, Soltec, Trina Tracker, Valmont, Versolsolar and Vgsolar.

“The Grade A designation serves as a market signal, highlighting suppliers that combine operational robustness with practices aligned to global procurement standards,” Shen added. “We have consulted extensively with developers and EPCs to ensure the framework highlights not only current capability, but also long-term risk mitigation.”

Wood Mackenzie is a global insight business for renewables, energy and natural resources, providing analytics, consultancy, events and thought leadership to support decision-making across the energy transition.