Hyundai Motor, Kia nab Exide Energy partnership

[Photo by Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp.]

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. will equip their electric vehicles (EVs) in India with locally produced batteries moving forward, in a move that will help the South Korean automakers under Hyundai Motor Group expand their presence in India’s battery development and production market.

Hyundai Motor and Kia signed a strategic business agreement with Indian battery company Exide Energy Solutions Ltd. on Monday, which took place Hyundai Motor Group’s Namyang Research and Development Center, to localize battery cells for EVs in India.

The signing ceremony was attended by executives from both companies, including Yang Heui-won, president and head of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s R&D Division, and Kim Chang-hwan, senior vice president and head of Electrification Energy Solutions Tech Unit, as well as Mandar V Deo, chief executive officer of Exide Energy.

Founded in 2022, Exide Energy is a dedicated EV battery subsidiary of Exide Industries Ltd., India‘s leading battery company. It is expected to start mass production of Hyundai and Kia EV battery cells as early as the end of 2024.

This agreement also marks the beginning of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s expansion in India’s battery development and production market., Exide Energy will produce and supply lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells to Hyundai Motor and Kia’s Indian production bases, which will then be installed in future India-specific EVs for the Korean automakers, under the agreement.

For their parts, Hyundai Motor and Kia will collaborate with Exide Energy from development to mass production to ensure the quality of batteries for vehicles to be produced in India for the first time.

The two Korean automakers aim to secure price competitiveness in the cost-sensitive Indian market by localizing the batteries, which account for a sizable portion of an EV’s cost. They also aim to expand into the HEV battery market to seize the local electrification market and diversify and stabilize the local battery supply chain.

“India is a key market for vehicle electrification due in part to the government’s carbon neutrality goals, which makes securing cost competitiveness via localized battery production crucial,” Yang, the president and head of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s R&D Division, said.