Hyundai Motor Group and LGES have signed a memorandum of understanding to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles in the United States and accelerate the group’s electrification efforts in North America. The signing ceremony took place on May 26 at the LGES headquarters in Seoul, attended by Jaehoon Chang, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company and Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solutions. The group and LGES will each hold a 50% stake in the joint venture, which will involve an investment of over US$4.3 billion (KRW 5.7 trillion).
“Hyundai Motor Group is focusing its electrification efforts to secure a leading position in the global auto industry. We are making a solid commitment to lead the global EV transition by establishing a new EV battery cell plant with LG Energy Solutions. battery manufacturer and long-time partner,” said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Co.
“Two great leaders in the automotive and battery industries have joined forces, and together we are poised to drive America’s EV transition,” he added. Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solutions, “By leveraging our product competitiveness and global operating experience, LG Energy Solutions will do its best to provide the latest sustainable energy solutions to our customers.”
The new joint venture has an annual production capacity of 30 GWh, capable of supporting the production of 300,000 EV units annually. The facility will be located in Bryan County, Savannah, Georgia, Currently under construction with Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.
The joint venture, which will start manufacturing in the second half of 2023, plans to start battery production by the end of 2025 at the earliest. Hyundai will assemble battery packs using cells from the Mobis plant and supply them to the group’s US manufacturing plants for production of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV models. The new plant will help create a stable supply of batteries to the region and allow the group to respond faster to growing demand for EVs in the US market.
With this joint venture, LGES now has seven battery plants in operation or under construction in the US, where the company is focusing the majority of its resources to expand production capacity. By increasing its local production, LGES aims to deliver innovative products at scale and speed, accelerating America’s clean energy transition.
Having worked on the supply of EV batteries for vehicles such as the Elantra Hybrid, Kona Electric and Ioniq 6, the group and LGES have a long-standing collaboration in the field of electrification. The Hyundai Elantra Hybrid, an LPi hybrid vehicle introduced in 2009, was the group’s first electrified model. In 2021, both start building it The Indonesian Battery Cell joint venture is scheduled for production in the first half of 2024.
