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Battery shares plunge on reports of Trump's plan to cut EV support

Published: 17 Dec. 2024, 10:16 Updated: 17 Dec. 2024, 16:49

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

President-elect Donald Trump delivers an address on Nov. 13 in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

Shares of Korean battery and battery materials companies tumbled Tuesday following reports that President-elect Donald Trump plans to cut incentives for EVs and impose tariffs on battery materials imports.

Shares of Samsung SDI closed at 247,000 won ($171.82) on Tuesday, a 6.1 percent plummet compared to the previous trading session.

LG Energy Solution, the country's largest battery maker, dropped 3.9 percent to 382,500 won.

SK Innovation, the parent company of SK On, fell 1.8 percent to 119,200 won, despite U.S. Energy Department granting a $9.6 billion loan to its three battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Materials companies were also hit hard. Posco Holdings slipped 2.4 percent to 264,000 won while its cathode materials subsidiary, Posco Future M, shrunk 8.2 percent to 152,600 won.

Kosdaq-listed EcoPro plunged 6.3 percent to close at 67,100 won while EcoPro BM sank 7.8 percent to 118,200 won.

The downside comes as Reuters reported Monday that Trump’s transition team had documents recommending the repeal of Biden's EV mandate and the easing of regulations on fossil fuel cars.

The EV mandate includes the Inflation Reduction Act, which offers up to $7,500 to buyers of EVs assembled in North America.

Biden's package also offers generous incentives to Korean battery makers that have been producing batteries in the United States, which is currently defending them from falling to a loss.

The Trump document also recommends imposing tariffs on all battery materials globally in a bid to boost U.S. production.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]