Hyundai, Kia to develop own hybrid car batteries with SK Innovation

[YONHAP]

Hyundai Motor and Kia will collaborate with SK Innovation to codevelop batteries for their future hybrid electric vehicles.

This is the first time Hyundai Motor and Kia, the world's fifth biggest carmaker by sales, have directly participated in battery development, after completely relying on partnership with battery makers in the past.

Batteries co-developed under the partnership will be pouch-types and will be installed in Hyundai and Kia’s hybrid vehicles that launch from 2024.

“Hyundai Motor and Kia will design the hybrid vehicle batteries based on experience in battery technology in the past and top-notch class in vehicle designing technology,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement Friday.

“[Hyundai and Kia] will assess the battery materials which play decisive roles in the battery function and safety and will choose various element of the battery including the proportion of certain materials.”

Hyundai Motor and Kia have been working with SK Innovation since 2010 when Hyundai Motor launched its first mass-produced electric model, known as BlueOn. SK Innovation has maintained an especially keen relationship with Kia, being in charge of the majority of batteries installed in Kia’s eco-friendly lineup, be it hybrid or pure electric, including the Niro EV, Niro Hybrid, K5 Hybrid and K7 Hybrid.

SK Innovation has also been selected as sole supplier of the first batch of production from Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle-dedicated platform E-GMP, which includes Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]