SMA is the long-standing leader in the global PV inverter space, and it retained its top ranking in 2014.

How long it can maintain that top slot is, however, another question. In 2014, SMA lost share in the global market for PV inverters for the fifth consecutive year, IHS says.

And its share is coming from a shrinking pie. Due to intense price pressure, the global PV inverter market declined by 4% last year to $6.6bn,