DAEJEON < invest Korea

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korea’s automotive and battery manufacturers have ramped up investments in research and development (R&D) this year despite growing uncertainty surrounding the world’s economic conditions, such as monetary tightening, high inflation and slower growth. The combined investments made by the country’s major firms in the sectors - Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., Samsung SDI Co., LG Energy Solution Ltd. and SK on Co. - reached 1.97 trillion won ($1.47 billion) in the January-March period, according to the earnings reports disclosed by the companies on Tuesday. That was 26.5 percent more than 1.56 trillion won a year earlier.

South Korea’s automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia had the biggest rise in R&D spending among global automakers, up 26.4 percent to 1.35 trillion won. German brand Mercedes-Benz Group AG came next on the ranks with 24.8 percent, followed by Volkswagen Group with 15.4 percent and BMW Group with 11.7 percent.

The two local automakers have stepped up their efforts to become more competitive in green sectors, such as plug-in hybrids, by spending more to acquire patent technology. At the end of March, the two automakers had a total of 53,794 patents at home and abroad, up 15.6 percent on year. They have also focused on developing autonomous driving technology, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

South Korea’s top 3 battery makers have also jacked up R&D spending to take the lead in the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) markets across the world. The leading player in the race was Samsung SDI, in which R&D spending rose 19.6 percent on year to 308.8 billion won in the first quarter. Samsung SDI outnumbered its rivals in terms of spending.

“Samsung SDI still lags behind its competitors in market share but stays competitive in lineups of premium products with higher selling prices,” said a battery industry insider. “The company will pilot a production line for all-solid-state batteries, dubbed the dream battery, in the second half of this year.”

LG Energy Solution has invested 226.2 billion won in R&D during the first quarter. It marked a 23.3 percent increase compared with the same period last year. The company is expected to start mass production of the 4680-type cylindrical battery with a diameter of 46mm and length of 80mm, introduced earlier by U.S. Tesla Inc. The Korean battery maker has produced high-nickel batteries, which require further investments in enhancing energy density and safety.

SK on has invested 84.5 billion won in R&D during the first quarter, up 77.5 percent from a year ago. As part of its efforts to develop next-generation batteries, the company will make investments worth 470 billion won by 2025 in its R&D center in Daejeon, South Korea.



By Moon Gwang-min, Jung You-jung, and Han Yubin

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (May 17, 2023)