SK Innovation has joined other two Korean battery makers as Volkswagen Group’s strategic suppliers of battery cells for electric vehicles based on the Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB), the German carmaker said on Tuesday (local time).

The Korean company will supply the batteries for North America and a share of the batteries for the production of Volkswagen Group full-electric vehicles in Europe.

SK Innovation is one of the most important strategic suppliers of battery cells along with LG Chem and Samsung SDI for the equipment of the Volkswagen Group’s rapidly glowing electric fleet along in the major regions of the world.

The Volkswagen Group brands plan to bring 50 new full-electric models onto the roads by 2025 within the framework of Roadmap E. The Group needs battery capacity in excess of 150 GWh per year through 2025 to equip its own electric fleet, which corresponds to an annual capacity of at least four Gigafactories for battery cells. The selection of the three Korean battery suppliers is a prerequisite for this vision. The Korean companies will begin battery supplies from 2019.

In addition, SK Innovation will cover the Group’s demand on the North American market from 2022. China’s CATL was nominated as the strategic partner for China, and will supply batteries for the Group’s own electric fleet from 2019.

“We have found strong partners for the long-term supply of cells for our electric vehicles. Together with our suppliers, we will ensure that the rapidly growing electric fleet of the Volkswagen Group receives the best possible batteries,” said Dr. Stefan Sommer, Group Board Member responsible for Components and Procurement of Volkswagen AG.

By Lee Jae-cheol and Minu Kim

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