7 auto brands release EV battery info; Chinese products account for 35 pct

SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Yonhap) -- Seven auto brands in South Korea have released battery information of their electric vehicle (EV) models sold in the country as of Tuesday, amid growing calls for battery transparency following a massive fire caused by an electric car this month.

As of Tuesday afternoon, three South Korean companies -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp and KG Mobility Corp. -- and four overseas brands have released battery information of a total of 40 different models sold in the country.

Of those, 14 models were equipped with Chinese-made batteries, accounting for 35 percent of the total.

Over the weekend, domestic industry leader Hyundai Motor revealed its list of the manufacturers of the batteries used in 13 of its EV models on the company's website.

With the exception of the Kona Electric, which uses battery cells from China's CATL, all Hyundai EVs were found to be equipped with battery products from South Korea's LG Energy Solution Ltd. or SK On Co.

Kia also disclosed battery information for its EVs on its website Monday, following its sister Hyundai Motor's revelation.

Kia's seven EV models, including EV3, EV6 and EV9, are run with products from South Korea's LG Energy Solution and SK On. But the latest models of the A-segment Ray EV and some models of the compact crossover Niro EV are equipped with batteries from CATL.

KG Mobility also disclosed on its website that the batteries used in its electric vehicles, the Torres EVX and Korando EV, are from Chinese company BYD.

Among foreign car manufacturers, BMW was the first to voluntarily disclose information. On Monday, BMW Korea revealed that its electric SUVs iX1 and iX3 are equipped with CATL batteries, while electric sedans iX, i4, i5 and i7 use batteries from Samsung SDI.

Mercedes-Benz Korea released the brand information of its electric vehicle models earlier in the day.

Of its EQE electric line, only the 300 model was equipped with batteries from China's CATL. Other trims -- the 350+, AMG 53 4MATIC+ and 350 4MATIC -- were equipped with batteries from Farasis Energy, the battery supplier in the Mercedes model that caused the fire.

The EQS 350, the top-tier EV sedan model, also used batteries from Farasis, while other trims of the EQS had CATL batteries.

Swedish automakers Volvo and Polestar also made their EV battery information available on their websites and applications.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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