Neighborly Venture
Attention is focusing on South Korea-Japan collaborations in the EV industry after their recent summit.
At present, LG Energy Solution is the only South Korean EV battery maker that is doing business with Japanese automakers. It has supplied batteries to Nissan and Isuzu and is discussing a partnership with Toyota. The joint LG Energy Solution-Honda battery plant is scheduled to be completed in 2025 to have an annual production capacity of 40 GWh.
The collaborations are expected to increase as Japanese automakers are accelerating EV development. Toyota, which sold no more than 24,000 EVs in 2022, is aiming to increase the figure to at least 3.5 million by 2030. According to Nissan, 98 percent of its cars sold in Europe will be EVs in 2026 and 40 percent of those sold in North America will be EVs in 2030.
Samsung SDI and SK On are expected to work together with Japanese automakers as well. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance and SK On recently met in Seoul to discuss battery supply.