SK, Geely join forces for EV battery, component production

SK Inc., the holding company of South Korea’s No. 2 conglomerate SK Group, will join forces with Chinese auto giant Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. to strengthen their sustainable mobility businesses, such as electric vehicle battery manufacturing. 
   
SK, which has the world’s fifth-largest EV battery maker, SK On Co., as an affiliate, signed an agreement with Geely on June 11 for a strategic business partnership in the global eco-friendly car market, the Korean holding firm said on Wednesday.

SK and Geely will explore opportunities to collaborate in the sustainable mobility industry, with a focus on EV charging infrastructure, electronics components and green energy.
   
“The two groups are expected to lead the global EV and eco-friendly energy markets and build a strong foothold in the future mobility sector,” said SK Chief Executive Jang Yong-ho.

Geely and SK will leverage their respective strengths to provide global customers with better experiences in sustainable mobility, said Geely CEO Daniel Donghui Li.
   
SK Group Executive Vice Chair Chey Jae-won’s global networks played a crucial role in closing the strategic partnership with Geely, the holding company said. Chey, who served as CEO of SK On for three years and a half from December 2021, became executive vice chair of the battery maker’s parent company, SK Innovation Co., on June 10.
   
When his nomination was announced on June 7, SK Innovation said Chey would focus on responding to geopolitical risks that SK Innovation affiliates’ energy and green business are facing and their global growth strategies. 

EV, FUTURE MOBILITY PARTNERSHIPS
  
SK is expected to further strengthen its battery and tech business with Geely’s global brands, such as Volvo Cars and Polestar in Sweden and Lotus Cars in the UK, industry insiders said.
   
Last November, SK On signed a deal to provide nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery cell modules to Polestar for electric car Polestar 5 to be rolled out in 2025, marking the Korean battery maker’s first supply of high-end NCM batteries to the Swedish EV maker.  
   
In March 2021, holding company SK and Geely each injected $30 million to create a fund to invest in global future mobility tech firms. The companies closed the fund, called the New Mobility Fund, at $163 million in August 2022, with a majority of the capital raised from Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, the US, Europe and Japan.

Geely’s auto sales across its 11 brands, including Geely Auto, Lynk & Co, Zeekr, Volvo, Polestar, Proton and Lotus, increased 20% year over year to reach 2.8 million units last year.

The Chinese auto group’s sales of EVs and other eco-friendly passenger and commercial vehicles jumped 51% on-year to 980,000 units last year, making up 35% of the group’s aggregate sales.

Write to Hyeon-woo Oh at ohw@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.