Lotte Chair visits Evsis factory, urges 'expansion into international markets'

Industry

Published: 26 Mar. 2024, 18:47 Updated: 26 Mar. 2024, 19:46

Lotte Chair visits Evsis factory, urges 'expansion into international markets'

Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin, third from left, visits the Evsis Smart Factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, on Monday. The new Cheongju plant is set to expand production capacity to approximately 20,000 units annually and pave the way for global expansion. [LOTTE CORPORATION]

Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin visited a factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, to check in on the conglomerate's new foray into the EV charger market on Monday.

The factory — owned by Evsis, an EV charging subsidiary of Lotte Innovate — is a core facility in Lotte's business with a production capacity of 20,000 units annually. It includes automation systems such as autonomous mobile robots and in-line conveyors, and covers a range of chargers from slow to fast speeds.

Shin inquired as to the versatility and performance of electric vehicle chargers in challenging environments, the conglomerate's holding company said Tuesday. He urged “expansion into international markets based on a diverse product lineup and quality standards such as stability,” the company added.

Evsis, acquired by Lotte Innovate in 2022, currently operates more than 4,000 electric vehicle chargers across the group's network of department stores, supermarkets and hotels. It aims to ramp up installations to 7,500 units by the end of the year. The EV charging segment generated revenue of 80.4 billion won last year, according to Lotte Innovate's earnings report.

Lotte Group has identified four new business domains for growth. They include health and wellness with a focus on contract development and manufacturing organizations, personalized health care platforms, senior services, home meal replacements and alternative food ingredients; sustainability, encompassing battery materials, hydrogen, recycling and bioplastics; mobility, which includes autonomous driving and related services, EV charging infrastructure and UAM; and “new lifestyle platform” featuring virtual, unmanned and autonomous driving platforms. The group is pursuing various ventures in the mobility sector including EV charging.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]