GM head holds talks with Samsung, LG execs over EV battery, auto parts

Seoul, Feb 7 (IANS) The head of the US auto giant General Motors (GM) 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, reports Yonhap news agency.

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 met with LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan and LG Energy Solution CEO Kim Dong-myung later in the day to discuss ongoing joint projects in the battery and auto components sectors and ways to boost cooperation, officials said.

LG has long been a supplier of batteries and other auto parts to GM. Their North American joint venture Ultium Cells LLC has a battery production facility operating in Ohio.

Their second plant in Tennessee will go into commercial production this year, with the third plant in Michigan on track for mass production after 2025.