Hold a Face-to-face Meeting at Lotte Chemical
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun met with Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin on Nov. 25 to discuss cooperation in future cars. As Lotte Group is focusing on high-tech materials, the two groups are likely to come up with a partnership in the future car sector.
Chung met with Shin at a high-tech material plant of Lotte Chemical in Uiwang. The two took a tour of the Product Exhibition Hall and the Materials Research Center in Uiwang. The research center focuses on high-function synthetic resins such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) for automobiles and chemical materials for construction and interior products.
This marked the first time Chung has visited a Lotte Chemical plant in person. Industry insiders believe that Hyundai Motor and Lotte are discussing new ways for cooperation, focusing on high-tech materials in the future car sector.
"There is a high possibility that the two groups will cooperate in the development of high-tech materials such as plastic products that can be used for future electric and hydrogen cars," an industry analyst said. "The possibility of cooperation between the two groups is strong as automotive materials are a key factor that can enhance the driving performance of eco-friendly cars."
Expanding electric vehicles’ and hydrogen electric vehicles’ safety and driving performance is a key task that global carmakers are implementing to dominate the eco-friendly car market. In general, an increase in mileage comes from reducing vehicle weight and boosting energy efficiency by improving battery energy density and lightening internal and external materials. This is why Hyundai Motor Group is interested in technology for new materials following battery technology.
Recently, Lotte Chemical has judged the future car sector as a new growth engine and is stepping up its efforts in the mobility material business. It is expanding its business into battery fields such as research and development on high-function engineering plastic technologies such as ABS, polypropylene (PP) and polycarbonate (PC), as well as expanding facilities for materials for separators. In February, Lotte hinted at the possibility of cooperating with global carmakers including Hyundai Motor in order to foster its mobility business.