Battery Giants, Hyundai Concerned by US Moves on China Supplies
- Hyundai, LG Energy, Samsung SDI met with Korea trade officials
- Korea imports almost 90% of key battery materials from China
A battery pack installed on a Hyundai Motor Co. Ioniq 5 electric vehicle on the production line at the company's plant in Ulsan, South Korea.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergSouth Korea’s biggest electric-car battery makers and Hyundai Motor Co. have expressed concern over new US legislation aimed at boosting domestic production of EVs and reducing the use of Chinese materials, moves they say could hurt their competitiveness.
Korean trade ministry officials met with Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution Ltd., Samsung SDI Co. and SK On Co. to listen to their “concerns and difficulties” about the measures in the US’s tax and energy bill, the ministry said in a statement Thursday. Chief among these are the need to assemble EVs in North America and to quickly end a reliance on China for the battery supply chain in order for the vehicles to qualify for a maximum $7,500 tax credit.