Korea JoongAng Daily: New Opportunities for Sino-Korean Battery Cooperation, Korean Companies Win Big Orders from Chinese Automakers
Korea JoongAng Daily reported on July 10 that Chinese electric vehicle and battery companies are actively extending cooperation olive branches to South Korea, pushing for overseas market expansion. Recently, the long-closed supply chain network of the Chinese electric vehicle market has started to loosen, bringing new opportunities for the South Korean battery industry. LG Energy Solution signed an agreement with Chery Automobile last month, under which it will supply 800 million watt-hours of cylindrical 46-series batteries over six years starting in early 2025, with a contract value exceeding 1 trillion won. The batteries will be used in Chery's European factories. As a state-owned Chinese automaker, Chery exported about 1.1 million units, or 46% of its total sales of 2.4 million units in 2023. This move is seen as an important signal of Sino-Korean cooperation. According to expert Choi Jae-hee from the Institute for International Economic Policy, Chery's actions indicate that Chinese state-owned enterprises are proactively opening up cooperation spaces with South Korean companies. At the same time, South Korean material companies are also accelerating their layout in Europe to attract Chinese customers. For example, Solus Advanced Materials has reached an agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) for battery copper foil supply, and Lotte Energy Materials' Spanish factory is expected to start operations in 2028 with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons. However, Chinese battery giant CATL has established a South Korean subsidiary and successfully supplied parts for Kia's PV5 model. South Korean companies now face new challenges in price competition.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837243795940352/
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