Hyundai Motor Company’s selection of battery partner for electric cars in North America region is imminent.
According to industry on the 5th, Hyundai Motor Company is at the final stage of negotiation with LG Energy Solution·Samsung SDI·SK on in order to select battery partner for electric cars within the US.Hyundai Motor Company not only evaluated battery quality and unit price for each of these battery makers, but also their investment plans in the US. It is known that CATL, a major supplier to Hyundai Motor Company other than 3 major Korean battery companies, was excluded from negotiations from the beginning in consideration of the strong anti-Chinese political situation.
Since Biden government isimplementingtheir own priority policy, such as building electric vehicle and battery production facilities, Hyundai Motor Company is expected to benefit from US government policies by securing a stable battery supply source through investment and creating local jobs.
If Hyundai Motor company confirms their plan for a joint battery plant, they will secure a large-scale independent battery supplier in the United States, following Toyota and Volkswagen, which are key competitors in the global auto industry.
Toyota has confirm their investment of 1.3 billion USD (about 1.54 trillion KRW) in North Carolina, the US, to establish a battery manufacturing plant. Toyota initially plannedto secure four production lines capable of producing 200,000 electric vehicle battery packs per year, and then add two more lines to acquire the ability to produce 1.2 million battery packs per year. Volkswagen is also promoting the construction of their own or joint venture battery plant along with an electric car plant capable of producing 600,000 electric vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Company is planning to increase their annual production capability according to the market condition after securing a battery production plant with an annual capacity of 200,000 to 300,000 units around 2025.
An industry official said, "Hyundai Motor Company has been discussing with many domestic companies since the beginning of this year, and is currently in final negotiation stage and the contract will be finalized within a month or two."
The US government confirmed an investment of 3 billion USD (3.79 trillion KRW) on the 3rd to expand electric vehicle battery production facilities in the country. The U.S. plans to increase the proportion of electric vehicles in new car sales up to 50% by 2030.
By Staff Reporter Tae-jun Park (gaius@etnews.com)