Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors Co. (GM)
SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The head of the U.S. auto giant General Motors (GM) Co. met with chiefs of Samsung Group affiliates on Wednesday to discuss cooperation in areas involving electric vehicle (EV) batteries and auto electric parts, industry sources said.
According to the sources, GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra, who arrived in Seoul the previous day, met with Choi Yoon-ho, head of Samsung SDI Co., Samsung Display Co. CEO Choi Joo-sun and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co. CEO Chang Duck-hyun in southern Seoul earlier in the day.
It marked Barra’s first official visit to South Korea since becoming chairperson of GM’s board in 2016.
Barra and the Samsung executives reportedly discussed cooperation in the ongoing construction of a joint venture EV battery factory between Samsung SDI and GM, as well as over displays and vehicle camera modules.
Samsung SDI and GM are currently constructing the EV factory in the U.S. state of Indiana.
The companies aim to start commercial operations of the plant, with an annual capacity of over 30 gigawatts per hours, by 2026. The batteries will be supplied for future GM EVs.
Barra also plans to meet with executives of LG Energy Solutions Ltd. later in the day. GM and LG Energy Solutions are also building a separate joint EV battery plant in Michigan.
(Yonhap)
