Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - A newspaper in South Korea said on Wednesday that South Korean automaker Kia Corp will use batteries from...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - A newspaper in South Korea said on Wednesday that South Korean automaker Kia Corp will use batteries from China's CATL in an electric vehicle (EV) that will be sold in South Korea. This would be the first time that Kia Corp used non-Korean EV batteries for sales in South Korea.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd's batteries will be used in Kia's electric Niro crossover SUV, according to the Hankook Ilbo newspaper, which cited an unnamed Kia official. CATL is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. Kia is a part of Hyundai Motor Co.
Industry tracker SNE Research says that CATL is the biggest battery maker in the world. Its clients include Tesla Inc. and Volkswagen AG, and it has more than 35% of the booming global EV battery market, which is worth tens of billions of dollars.
The report said that the automaker also thought about how cost-effective the Niro EV would be when making its decision. The Niro EV is aimed at the middle of the auto market, not at the top. The newspaper didn't say how much or how many batteries the deal was for.
Officials from Kia and CATL were not available for comment right away.
Last year, Chosun Ilbo, another domestic newspaper, said that CATL, LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES), and SK Innovation's SK On had won a deal to supply batteries to Hyundai Motor Group, which is the parent company of Kia and Hyundai Motor Co.
Analysts said that Kia would want to lower the price of its Niro EV by using CATL batteries, which are cheaper. Batteries are usually the most expensive part of an EV, making up 30–40% of the total cost of making the car.
"This seems like a natural step for South Korean automakers to take if they want to boost sales of electric vehicles and make sure they have enough battery capacity," said Kevin Yoo, an analyst at Daol Investment & Securities.
The Hankook Ilbo newspaper said that Kia had not yet told its customers about its plan to use CATL's batteries.
So far, Hyundai Motor and Kia have only made electric cars for the South Korean market with batteries made by LGES and SK On.
SNE Research says that this pair and another domestic company, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., control more than a quarter of the global EV battery market.
