CATL, the Chinese electric vehicle battery giant has supplied EV batteries to South Korea’s Kia Corp. This marks the use of electric vehicle batteries from outside Korea for home sales.
Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., uses CATL for its Niro electric crossover SUV. The use of CATL batteries aims to expand the reach of battery suppliers, a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“With sales of its battery electric vehicles growing globally, Kia is cooperating with various battery suppliers to diversify and stabilize battery supply,” Kia said in a statement to Reuters, confirming the use of CATL’s batteries.
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Reuters in its report said a CATL spokesman also confirmed the report, without elaborating.
CATL is the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer with clients including Tesla and Volkswagen AG.
Industry tracker SNE Research says in the booming electric vehicle market, CATL has a share of more than 35% of the global electric vehicle battery market.
For sales of electric vehicles in South Korea, Hyundai Motor and Kia previously only used batteries from two South Korean companies – LG Energy Solution Ltd and SK Innovation.
