SEOUL - SK Innovation Co Ltd is in talks to set up separate battery-making joint ventures with Volkswagen AG and Chinese partners, as the South Korean petrochemicals producer aggressively expands its involvement in electric vehicles .
The talks come as EV battery makers boost capacity to cope with fast-growing demand, as automakers race to develop vehicles powered by means other than petrol to meet increasingly stringent emissions regulations worldwide. The broader SK Group, South Korea’s third-biggest conglomerate, has increased focus on EV batteries as demand slows at memory chip-making unit SK Hynix Inc.
The JV would be the first in which Volkswagen, one of the world’s biggest automakers, will be co-investing in battery production, similar to the joint battery investment of Panasonic and U.S. EV maker Tesla Inc, analysts said. Volkswagen’s other suppliers include LG Chem, Samsung SDI and China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd.
SK Innovation had aimed to begin construction in 2016, but postponed as EVs equipped with Korean batteries were not included on a government list of EVs eligible for subsidies.