Fire-hit Mercedes uses Chinese cells for most EVs in Korea

Mercedes-Benz AG, a German luxury carmaker hit by an electric vehicle fire in South Korea, said most of its EV models in the Asian country are equipped with Chinese cells.

Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd. on Tuesday disclosed battery cell manufacturers of its EV batteries amid the mounting pressures from the government and customers after its EQE electric sedan with cells reportedly produced by Chinese company Farasis Energy Inc. caught fire in the underground garage of an apartment building in Incheon, a port city bordering Seoul, earlier this month.

“All Mercedes-Benz EV batteries are manufactured by Mercedes-Benz’s 100%-owned subsidiaries, while various manufacturers supply battery cells,” the South Korean unit of the German carmaker said on its website.

Among the EQE sedan lineups, the EQE 300 is the only trim equipped with cells produced by the world’s top battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), while the EQE 350+, the AMG EQE 53 4MATIC+ and the EQE 350 4MATIC use cells of Farasis.

For the EQE sport utility vehicle models, Mercedes-Benz installs cells of Farasis for the EQE 500 4MATIC SUV and products of China’s CATL for the EQE 350 4MATIC SUV.

The automaker uses CATL’s cells for the most EVs of the upper-class EQS lineups including the Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV.

Mercedes-Benz uses cells from South Korea’s SK On Co., the world’s fifth-largest battery maker, for lower-end models such as the EQA 250 and the EQB 300 4MATIC. The discontinued EQC 400 4MATIC was equipped with cells by LG Energy Solution Ltd.

“We are cooperating with (South Korean) authorities’ investigations to figure out the exact cause of the incident,” Mercedes-Benz Korea said, referring to the fire on Aug. 1. “We are doing our utmost to identify the root cause and take follow-up measures.”

VOLKSWAGEN EVS EQUIPPED WITH KOREAN BATTERIES

Volkswagen AG, the world’s second-largest automaker, said its EV models are equipped with batteries by South Korean manufacturers, on the other hand.

The German automaking group said all EV models of its luxury brand Audi have batteries manufactured by LG Energy and Samsung SDI Co.

Samsung SDI, the world’s sixth-largest battery maker, supplies cells for the electric SUV e-tron including the Sportback trim and the premium electric SUV Q8 e-tron lineups. LG Energy provides cells for the e-tron GT quattro, the RS e-tron GT quattro and the compact electric SUV Q4 e-tron series.

The two South Korean battery makers supplied cells for the discontinued e-tron 55 quattro.

Volkswagen sells the electric crossover SUV ID.4 equipped with LG Energy’s cells in South Korea.

TO ALLEVIATE SAFETY CONCERNS

The disclosures came as domestic and foreign carmakers scrambled to ease safety concerns in the country over EVs and batteries, especially made by Chinese companies after the fire.

The blaze took over eight hours to extinguish and damaged about 16 vehicles in the parking lot, boosting EV phobia in South Korea and putting further pressure on automakers, which have been struggling against the sustained weakness in the clean vehicle industry.

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., the country’s two largest carmakers, as well as foreign brands such as BMW and Volvo, unveiled their EV battery and cell suppliers.

Hyundai and Kia said they will provide safety inspection services for all EVs including passenger cars and small commercial vehicles indefinitely at home.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.