Hyundai teams up with India's Exide Energy on EV battery project

Industry

Published: 08 Apr. 2024, 16:49

Hyundai teams up with India's Exide Energy on EV battery project

Hyundai Motor and Exide Energy Solutions executives take a photo after signing an agreement to source batteries at the Korean automaker's R&D center in Namyang in Gyeonggi, on Monday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor and Kia will collaborate with Indian battery maker Exide Energy Solutions to source batteries for their EVs on Indian roads.

The two Korean automakers said Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding with the company to source lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a technology prevalent in China.

Under the agreement, Exide Energy's batteries will be shipped to Hyundai’s factories in India to be installed in EVs for sale in that region.

Hyundai Motor has a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost part of India, and recently bought a General Motors facility in Maharashtra, which will boost its total production capacity to 1 million.

LFP batteries have been in the spotlight recently as automakers scramble in the fight to release cheaper EVs. LFP batteries cost less but have less energy density than the high-performing, nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries used and produced in Korea.

Established in 2022, Exide Energy Solutions is a subsidiary of Exide Industries, a leading lead-acid battery supplier with over 75 years of history. It will start mass-producing LFP batteries as early as the end of the year.

“India is a key market for vehicle electrification due in part to the government’s carbon neutrality goals, which make securing cost competitiveness through localized battery production crucial,” said Yang Heui-won, head of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s R&D division.

“Through this global partnership with Exide Energy Solutions, we will gain a competitive advantage by equipping Hyundai Motor and Kia’s future EV models in the Indian market with locally produced batteries.”

Last year, Hyundai Motor said it would invest around 200 billion rupees ($2.45 billion) in India over the next 10 years to build a battery pack assembly plant and 100 charging stations for EVs.

India has the world’s third-largest auto market after China and the United States. Hyundai Motor has gradually expanded sales in India in recent years, ranking No. 2 after Maruti Suzuki.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]