South Korea’s three major battery makers likely made all-time-high investments in research and development (R&D) activities last year despite a slowdown in electric vehicle sales, industry sources said on Wednesday.
LG Energy Solution Ltd. (LGES), Samsung SDI Co. and SK On are estimated to have invested more than 2.5 trillion won (US$1.7 billion) in R&D projects in 2024, up from 2.47 trillion won a year earlier, according to the sources.
LGES, the country’s leading battery firm, is projected to have invested more than 1.1 trillion won in next-generation battery development last year, up 6 percent from about 1.04 trillion won the previous year, reports Yonhap news agency.
Samsung SDI’s R&D investment in 2024 is estimated to have exceeded its 2023 spending at around 1.14 trillion won.
SK On likely made a similar level of R&D investment last year as its 300.6 billion won in 2023.
The industry sources note their preemptive R&D investments may have been aimed at quickly responding to a recovery in battery demand following the EV “chasm,” which is occurring before the widespread adoption of EVs.
Meanwhile, the total number of registered vehicles in South Korea surpassed 26 million units last year, with eco-friendly cars accounting for over 10 percent for the first time, driven by growth in hybrid vehicle sales, the government said.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the total number of registered vehicles reached 26.3 million units as of the end of December, up 1.3 per cent from a year ago.
By fuel type, gasoline and diesel models came to 12.4 million units and 9.1 million units, respectively, followed by liquefied petroleum gas and hybrid models, with 1.85 million and 2.02 million units, respectively.
The number of electric vehicles and hydrogen models came to 684,000 units and 38,000 units, respectively.
The total number of eco-friendly vehicles, including electric, hydrogen and hybrid models, totalled 2.75 million units, up 626,000 units from a year ago.
The growth of hybrid models, in particular, helped push the share of eco-friendly vehicles to 10.4 percent of all registered vehicles, up 2.2 percentage points on-year to surpass the 10 per cent threshold for the first time.
In contrast, the total number of internal combustion engine cars declined 1.2 percent to 23.37 million units, marking the second consecutive annual decline.