Yingli vs AIKO - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Yingli has the broader catalog (196 vs 144 models). AIKO leads on peak efficiency at 25.20%. Yingli leans bifacial (57% 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
Yingli Solar, also known as Yingli Green Energy, is a leading solar energy company and one of the world's largest vertically integrated PV manufacturers. The company develops, manufactures, and sells PV modules to a wide range of markets. Yingli's mission is to provide affordable green energy for all.
- Founded
- 1998
- Headquarters
- Baoding, Hebei, China
- Annual capacity
- 2.45 GW/year
- Employees
- 9000+
- Listed
- OTC Pink: YGEHY
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- Shanghai, China
- Listed
- SZSE: 600732
- 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
AIKO skews to higher efficiency: 85% of lineup is 23%+
AIKO offers more 600W+ panels (60% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (32%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>Back Contact</strong> (83%)
The flagships
Written summary
AIKO is a Chinese solar manufacturer headquartered in Guangzhou, founded in 2009 and publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The company achieved Bloomberg NEF Tier 1 bankability status in 2024 and reported total module shipments of 14.71 GW in 2025 - a year-on-year increase of over 130%. AIKO operates six manufacturing plants in China and maintains three R&D centers across China and Europe. Yingli Solar, headquartered in Baoding, Hebei Province, was founded in 1998 and was for many years one of the largest solar manufacturers by volume globally. The company experienced severe financial distress between roughly 2015 and 2020 and went through judicial restructuring before stabilizing and returning to Bloomberg NEF Tier 1 lists. Independent reviews estimate its current production capacity at approximately 7 GW per year. In terms of institutional footprint and financial momentum, AIKO currently holds the stronger position.
AIKO has built its competitive identity around its proprietary ABC (All Back Contact) N-type cell technology, which relocates all electrical contacts to the rear of the cell, eliminating front-side busbars. This architecture enables mass-production module efficiencies exceeding 25% and a temperature coefficient as low as -0.26%/°C, giving an energy-yield advantage in both hot climates and variable-weather markets. AIKO panels target premium residential rooftop installations where aesthetics and watts-per-square-metre matter, as well as commercial and industrial rooftops and utility-scale ground-mount projects. Yingli's current lineup centers on the Panda 3.0 Pro, an N-type TOPCon bifacial module rated at up to 22.8% efficiency and approximately 625 W peak output, complemented by the lower-cost YLM PERC series. Yingli's portfolio is generally positioned for price-sensitive utility and large commercial buyers rather than the premium residential segment.
For most international buyers, AIKO represents the stronger default choice today - its ABC technology leads independent efficiency rankings, it topped the 2025 SolarQuotes Installers' Choice Awards, and its financial trajectory is clearly upward. Yingli is a credible option where module cost is the overriding constraint and buyers are comfortable with a more conventional TOPCon or PERC platform, but the two brands are not interchangeable in terms of technology tier or current market momentum.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-01
Other brand comparisons
Shop prices: See 7 Yingli offers · See 173 AIKO offers
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.