Hyundai and Kia join forces with Korean EV battery giants to take on China

South Korea’s top automakers and battery companies are teaming up for the first time to take on China and advance new technology. Hyundai and Kia announced a new alliance with three EV battery giants to help Korea gain an edge.

Hyundai and Kia form new EV battery alliance in Korea

The global EV market is a “national competition,” warned Kim Dong-myung, CEO of LG Energy Solution, on Friday.

Kim is also the chairman of the Korean Battery Industry Alliance, which aims to solidify the country’s leadership in electric vehicle battery technology.

According to Kim, “The government and companies must become one team,” he added that “LG Energy Solution will also run until the end to ensure Korea’s future competitiveness.”

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LG Energy Solutions is one of the three major Korean battery companies, along with Samsung SDI and SK On, which have joined forces with Hyundai and Kia to remain competitive. It’s the first time the country’s top carmakers and battery companies have joined forces.

After proposing a “Battery Safety Task Force” last year, Hyundai and Kia made it official on Friday, signing a new business agreement to “further enhance cooperation in the future.”

The companies announced the collaboration at Hyundai Motor’s Namyang R&D Center in South Korea, with several government officials and company officials in attendance.

At the event, Hyundai, Kia, and the battery companies revealed several projects where “each company will leverage its own specialized technologies.” The partnership will focus on five areas, including new safety patents, digital battery passports, design quality, manufacturing quality, and firefighting technology.

Developing safer battery tech, Hyundai said, the new partnership will “further contribute to strengthening national competitiveness.”

The partnership comes after Hyundai and Kia launched a joint project in September to develop lower-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, aiming to challenge BYD’s Blade batteries and other Chinese leaders.

Electrek’s Take

According to SNE Research, China is widening its lead in the global electric vehicle battery market. In the first half of the year, CATL and BYD alone accounted for over 55% of global EV battery sales, up from 53% compared to the same period in 2024.

Meanwhile, the combined market share of LG Energy, SK On, and Samsung SDI decreased to 16.4%, a 5.4% decline from the same period last year.

With Hyundai and Kia preparing to launch a series of lower-cost, mass-market EVs, the new alliance could be beneficial for everyone involved.

China is still leading the global EV race by a wide margin, but South Korea has ambitious plans for the future. Can they close the gap? Hyundai and Kia are quickly becoming top-selling EV brands in a number of global markets, but so are China’s BYD, Geely, XPeng, NIO, Li Auto, and others.