ARTsolar vs Vikram Solar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Vikram Solar has the broader catalog (202 vs 0 models). Vikram Solar leans bifacial (74% of lineup).
Both catalogues are read from the manufacturers' own datasheets. A brand is not scored against the market here, only against the other brand on this page.
The two companies
Vikram Solar Limited is a leading Indian solar photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer and solar solutions provider. They offer engineering, procurement, construction (EPC), and operations & maintenance (O&M) services for solar plants. The company manufactures high-efficiency solar PV modules and has a pan-India...
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- Kolkata, India
- Annual capacity
- 9.5 GW/year
- Employees
- 1,895
- Listed
- NSE, BSE: VIKRAMSOLR
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Catalogue against catalogue
An average over a catalogue describes the range a manufacturer publishes, not the module you would buy. A brand with two flagship panels and eighty older ones averages worse than one that has retired its back catalogue.
What each of them builds
Vikram Solar skews to higher efficiency: 8% of lineup is 23%+
Vikram Solar offers more 600W+ panels (42% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (75%)
The flagships
Written summary
ARTsolar is a South African manufacturer founded in 2010 and headquartered in Durban, making it the only 100% locally owned solar PV module producer in the country. Its annual nameplate capacity sits at roughly 250-340 MW, a figure set to rise after a 2025 agreement with China's JA Solar to upgrade its Durban facility to a 340 MW assembly line for large-format JA Solar modules. ARTsolar does not appear on BloombergNEF's Tier 1 module manufacturers list, which limits its bankability for internationally financed projects. Vikram Solar, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Kolkata, India, operates at a far larger scale, having expanded its nameplate module production capacity to approximately 9.5 GW across facilities in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, and it has held BloombergNEF Tier 1 status for at least eight consecutive quarters while also achieving Top Performer recognition in PVEL's reliability scorecard. On institutional footprint and global bankability, Vikram Solar holds a decisive advantage.
ARTsolar's product proposition centers on locally assembled modules for South Africa's domestic procurement programmes, particularly for projects that must satisfy local-content requirements under the country's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Its partnership with JA Solar means its current output is essentially large-format, high-efficiency JA Solar designs - including the DeepBlue 4.0 Pro line - assembled in Durban rather than a proprietary cell technology. Vikram Solar, by contrast, offers a broad portfolio spanning PERC, TOPCon, HJT, and bifacial configurations in power ranges from roughly 395 Wp to 735 Wp, targeting utility-scale ground mounts, commercial rooftops, and premium residential installations across Europe, the UK, the United States, India, and other export markets.
For a buyer outside South Africa, Vikram Solar is the straightforward choice given its Tier 1 bankability, global track record of more than 10 GW deployed, and diversified cell-technology range. ARTsolar is a meaningful option only when South African local-content compliance is the primary decision driver - a niche but important use case within that single market.
- JA Solar and ARTsolar agree to expand PV module manufacturing in South Africa
- Vikram Solar re-enters BloombergNEF Tier 1 module manufacturers list
- Vikram Solar expands manufacturing capacity by 1 GW
- Vikram Solar surpasses 10 GW in global solar module deployments
- ARTsolar and JA Solar driving South Africa's renewable energy revolution
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-25
Other brand comparisons
Comparisons are computed from manufacturer datasheets held in the ComparePV database and may not reflect a brand's complete current lineup. Nothing on this page is paid placement.