Possible Beneficiary
Mercedes-Benz Chairman Dieter Zetsche said on October 18 that Daimler AG will invest one billion euros in order to enhance its competitiveness as an electric vehicle manufacturer and develop at least 10 electric vehicles. Last month, Daimler AG announced that it will release 10 new electric vehicles and increase the ratio of its electric vehicle sales volume to its total sales volume to 15% to 25% by 2025.
According to industry sources, the electric vehicle battery capacity to be used by Daimler AG in 2025 is estimated at 22.5 GWh given that the company sold approximately 30,000 electric vehicles last year and assuming that an average electric vehicle is equipped with a 30 kWh battery.
Under the circumstances, SK Innovation is likely to benefit from the German automaker’s policy in that they recently signed a battery cell supply contract for Mercedes Benz’s electric vehicles to be released next year. Until April this year, SK Innovation won 10 electric vehicle-related projects worth 7 GWh from Kia Motors, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company and Mercedes Benz. A joint project of SK Innovation, Mercedes Benz and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company is also predicted in that each of the first two is currently in partnership with the Chinese company.
At present, SK Innovation is running battery pack manufacturing facilities in China with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company and Beijing Electronics. Mercedes Benz is producing C-Class and E-Class in China via Beijing Benz.