Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and SK Innovation have decided to jointly develop hybrid car batteries.
According to Hyundai Motor Group on April 16, Hyundai Motor, Kia and SK Innovation are working together to develop pouch-type batteries optimized for electric vehicles and apply them to actual vehicles. The battery will be equipped with a hybrid car that Hyundai Motor will introduce in 2024.
The two sides plan to work closely together from the design stage to product evaluation and performance improvement to produce batteries optimized for future vehicle characteristics.
Their plan is to develop batteries that are optimized for mobility while also providing excellent economic performance.
It also means that South Korean automakers and battery companies will establish a collaborative model to develop new batteries. It is a new collaborative model that leads industrial ecosystem beyond simple delivery relationships.
This business agreement is the fruit of Hyundai Motor, Kia and SK Innovation's cooperation in the eco-friendly car sector through various programs for more than 10 years.
Hyundai Motor, Kia and SK Innovation collaborated on South Korea's first mass-production electric vehicle "Ray EV" and overseas' first export electric vehicle, "Soul EV," starting with the battery of the country's first high-speed electric vehicle "BlueOn" in 2010.
Hyundai Chairman Chung Eui-sun and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won held a meeting in July last year to strengthen cooperation in future electric vehicle batteries and new technologies.
Since then, the two groups also continue to cooperate in Hyundai Motor Group's electric vehicle "Ioniq 5" and "EV6."
The two groups are going to design hybrid car batteries based on know-how on battery technology and world-class vehicle design technology. They are planning to verify materials that determine battery performance and safety and select specifications for batteries including application ratio.
It is expected that this will not only improve battery performance but also increase competitiveness of hybrid cars.
Meanwhile, SK Innovation is said to have the world's best high-performance battery technology, battery safety, and high manufacturing technology. Besides Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, it is expanding cooperative models with various global automakers.
