Hyundai Motor's Launch of the 'Battery Korea' Four-Party Alliance

Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun is delivering a New Year's address at the 2020 Hyundai Motor Group Kick-off Ceremony held at Hyundai Motor Company headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

For the Development of Mobility Technology

Hyundai Motor Actively Cooperates with Samsung, LG, and SK

The Meeting between Lee Jae-yong and Chung Eui-sun Signals the Start

Significant Discussions with SK on New Business Areas such as Vehicle Sharing and Battery Recycling

Considering Establishing a Battery Joint Venture with LG

Full-Scale Strategy of Coexistence of Cooperation and Competition

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] With the 'battery meeting' between Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, and Chung Eui-sun, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, a 'quadrilateral alliance' among Hyundai Motor and Samsung, LG, and SK in the mobility sector has been anticipated. At a time when protectionism is strengthening due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the four major groups are preparing to fully implement a 'together yet separate' strategy that balances cooperation and competition centered on 'mobility.'

According to the business community on the 15th, Hyundai Motor Group has actively started cooperating with major domestic groups such as Samsung, LG, and SK to develop and secure electric vehicle battery technology. It is reported that Executive Vice Chairman Chung is personally engaging in close communication through official and unofficial meetings with the heads of major groups for technology exchange and business cooperation.

The meeting between Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group, the first and second largest business groups in Korea, signals the start of the mobility quadrilateral alliance. Recently, Executive Vice Chairman Chung made a surprise visit to Samsung SDI, which possesses innovative technology in the all-solid-state battery field?a sector that all automakers are interested in?to assess Samsung's technological level. Industry insiders believe that through this visit to Samsung’s facility, Hyundai Motor has likely identified Samsung SDI as a future partner. Hyundai plans to launch 23 pure electric vehicles out of 44 eco-friendly models by 2025. Samsung SDI, currently ranked seventh globally, is also expected to introduce its all-solid-state battery, which it is developing as a breakthrough technology, around 2025.

Hyundai Motor is also maintaining strong battery collaboration with SK and LG groups. In particular, a close cooperative relationship between Hyundai Motor and SK Innovation has recently been observed. SK Innovation has secured a large volume of batteries to be installed on Hyundai’s dedicated electric vehicle platform 'E-GMP,' and it is known that the two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding related to battery recycling. The scale of battery cooperation between the two companies is said to be larger than what has been publicly disclosed. Especially in new business areas inseparable from battery recycling technology?such as vehicle sharing services, electric vehicle and battery leasing?SK has shown prominence, and substantial behind-the-scenes discussions appear to have taken place. This future business area involves recycling batteries recovered from electric vehicles to produce new EV batteries or reuse them as energy storage systems (ESS).

The establishment of a joint venture between Hyundai Motor and LG Group is also gaining momentum. Hyundai has declared its goal to become the world’s second-largest electric vehicle manufacturer by 2025, which requires a stable supply of electric vehicle batteries. This is a key reason why Hyundai is discussing the establishment of a battery joint venture with LG Chem. A business community official said, "Since the four major groups commonly identify mobility as a future growth engine, greater synergy can be achieved through cooperation," adding, "The government is also expected to support cooperation among the four major groups as part of the Green New Deal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.