Hankook Technology teams up with Actop to enter EV charger market

South Korea’s automotive electric parts maker Hankook Technology Inc., which wholly owns DSME Construction Co., has teamed up with the country’s top electric vehicle charger manufacturer Actop to venture into EV market.

Kosdaq-listed Hankook Technology announced Tuesday it has signed an exclusive partnership deal with Actop to market wall and portable EV chargers with two-channel simultaneous charging functions.

Under the deal, Actop, which currently commands 90 percent of the domestic high-end EV chargers, will be in charge of supplying raw materials and technical support and Hankook Technology will be take charge of manufacturing and marketing of products.

Hankook Technology has been shifting its focus in recent years to smart car connectivity, smart parking sensor and cloud system development under the government’s smart city initiatives. The company now aims to branch out into the fast-growing EV charging market which is expected to reach dozens of trillion dollars within a few years.

Industry watchers forecast that the EV charging market will further grow on the back of the government’s new regulation mandating that 5 percent of parking in new buildings be equipped with EV chargers starting next year.

“We are diversifying our business portfolio in line with the global shift to renewables. We are currently in talks with our subsidiary DSME Construction on installing new chargers,“ said Hankook Technology CEO Shin Yong-ku.

On top of the latest partnership with Actop, the company has new construction and eco-friendly projects planned in the second half of this year, which will enable it to see a quantum growth in sales and profit, Shin said.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]