Volkswagen Group Korea disclosed the battery suppliers for its electric vehicle models on the company website on August 14. A day earlier, the South Korean government urged automakers operating in the country to voluntarily reveal the names of the companies that supply their EV batteries for the first time after an EV fire in an underground parking lot caused extensive damage.
None of the 14 models revealed by the company were equipped with Chinese-made batteries. All EV models sold in Korea featured domestically produced batteries from either LG Energy Solution or Samsung SDI.
The Volkswagen ID.4 uses batteries from LG Energy Solution, and the Audi e-tron S, including the Sportback version, is powered by Samsung SDI batteries, according to Volkswagen Group Korea. The electric SUV model Audi Q8 e-tron is equipped with LG Energy Solution batteries, and the Audi Q4 e-tron 50 quattro and its Sportback version uses batteries from Samsung SDI.
Audi’s e-tron GT quattro, RS e-tron GT quattro and the Q4 e-tron 40, including the Sportback version, are equipped with LG Energy Solution batteries. The Audi Q8 50 e-tron and Q8 55 e-tron, including the Sportback version, use batteries from Samsung SDI.
The disclosure of EV battery manufacturers comes after an EV fire blazed through an underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Incheon on August 1. The fire, which began in a Mercedes-Benz EQE electric sedan, caused at least 10 billion won ($7.33 million) in damage, destroying around 140 cars and disrupting tap water supply to 1,580 households and electricity to 470 households. The car involved in the fire was equipped with batteries made by China’s Farasis Energy.
To address the growing fears over EV safety, seven carmakers, including Hyundai Motors, Kia, BMW Korea, and Mercedes-Benz Korea, disclosed the names of the companies that supply their EV batteries.
