SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung SDI Co., the battery-making unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, said Thursday it will work with Audi AG to produce the power pack for the German automaker’s new electric-powered sport utility vehicle (SUV), as it moves to expand into the automotive business.
The two companies have signed a deal to co-develop battery cells and modules for Audi’s new SUV, Samsung SDI said in a statement.
Their joint project is aimed at producing the battery for Audi’s SUV, which offers a 500-kilometer range on a single charge, it said.
That is almost equivalent to the driving distance of a typical conventional car that runs on an internal combustion engine, Samsung SDI added. The average range of an electric vehicle currently stands at less than 200 kilometers, except the one produced by U.S. Tesla Motors Inc., which can run 480 kilometers on one charge.
“Being a partner with Audi for its new and innovative electric vehicle project means to us that our leadership in EV battery technology has been recognized,” Samsung SDI President Cho Nam-sung said in the press release.
It is not the first time that the two companies have joined forces for electric car development. In January, Audi announced at the Detroit Auto Show that its first diesel plug-in hybrid car, the Q7 e-Tron Quattro, uses Samsung SDI’s battery.
Samsung SDI has been cementing its global presence as a leading battery maker for electric vehicles, along with its domestic rival, LG Chem.
The number of electric cars in the world is forecast to grow to 6 million units in 2020, from 2.3 million units this year, according to market tracker B3. The size of the market for their batteries, thus, is expected to triple to US$21.1 billion from $6 billion over the same period, the market tracker said.
(Yonhap)
