 |
SK Innovation of South Korea is considering to establish electric-car battery factory in the U.S., in order to consolidate its business in the market, the largest worldwide, announced the company on Monday.
The announcement was made, as a precautionary response to consideration of U.S. President Donald Trump levying 25% punitive tariff on imported autos and parts, for the sake of national security, based on Section 232.
A spokesman of SK Innovation pointed out that the projected U.S. factory is preliminarily sited in the southern region of the U.S., where a number of states has been under consideration, although details for the factory plan have yet to be determined, according to Reuters.
LG Chem, SK Innovation's rival, already has production base in the U.S., where GM is its largest customer.
According to a report released by the International Energy Agency at the end of May, sales of electric cars, including hybrid models, jumped by 54% to 3 million cars in 2017, with demands from the Chinese market being the major growth driver, followed by the U.S. and Northern Europe, where demands also spiked.
(First photo courtesy of Pixabay)