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source: global times

[global times reporter li meng, yang shasha, global times special correspondent liu xin] according to the korea times on the 28th, south korean battery manufacturer samsung sdi and general motors of the united states said on the same day that the two sides have signed a contract to jointly invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery joint factory in indiana, usa. just one day before the news was released, vance, the republican vice presidential candidate of the united states, criticized michigan for providing tax incentives to guoxuan, a battery company with ties to china, at a campaign rally. regarding the united states vigorously supporting its allies to build factories while suppressing chinese battery companies, experts interviewed by the global times on the 29th believe that the global lithium battery industry is currently basically concentrated in china, japan and south korea. the united states is ambitious to develop the battery industry and must rely on companies in these three countries. given the current trade situation between the united states and china, the united states can only tend to choose korean and japanese companies, but the final effect remains to be seen.

samsung and gm team up to "lead the u.s. electric vehicle market"

the korea times reported that the cooperation between samsung and gm will not only promote the development of electric vehicle technology, but also have a positive impact on the local economy. the factory will focus on the production of nickel, cobalt and aluminum batteries for gm's future electric vehicles. the factory is expected to start production in 2027 and will create about 1,600 jobs.

both the united states and south korea are "ambitious" about this cooperation. the korea times quoted choi yun-ho, ceo of samsung sdi, as saying that the two sides aim to "build a high-end battery production center to lead the us electric vehicle market." general motors chairman and ceo mary barra believes that "with the construction of charging infrastructure and the expansion of market segments, the electric vehicle market and general motors sales will continue to grow."

south korea's daily economic news believes that samsung sdi's move reflects its strategic intention to respond to the growth of the north american market through early investment. samsung sdi's strategy is to gain dominance in the us electric vehicle market through this cooperation.

"a rural michigan town is embroiled in a civil war"

as south korean companies strive to expand in the us market, us politicians once again attacked the battery factory construction plan of guoxuan high-tech usa, a subsidiary of chinese battery company guoxuan high-tech, in michigan. "for the past two years, a rural town in central michigan has been embroiled in a civil war because an electric vehicle battery company from china plans to build a factory here." the new york times said on the 28th that vance claimed that "the democratic party is helping china" and unreasonably accused china of damaging the interests of american automakers. however, according to estimates by the us treasury department, only 2% of clean energy investments in the united states during the biden administration came from chinese companies, and the rest came from american companies or us allies.

founded in 2014, guoxuan is headquartered in california, and its parent company is hefei guoxuan high-tech power energy co., ltd., headquartered in anhui, china. according to the detroit news, volkswagen of germany owns more than 26% of guoxuan's shares, and germans, americans and chinese each account for one-third of the board of directors. the associated press previously reported that the $2.364 billion investment will bring thousands of jobs to grand rapids, michigan, and is known as the "largest economic development project ever" in northern michigan.

in fact, the united states is eager to establish a domestic supply chain for key minerals. since us president biden signed the inflation reduction act, the us government has introduced a number of supportive policies to establish a domestic battery supply chain. at the end of january this year, bloomberg revealed that tesla is planning to expand its battery factory in sparks, nevada. in addition to tesla, global major automakers such as toyota and hyundai have increased their investment in the us battery industry. in 2021, japan's toyota announced that it would build a us automotive battery factory in north carolina, and the new factory is expected to start producing batteries in the second half of 2025.

mo ke, founder of true lithium research, said in an interview with the global times on the 29th that under the current legal framework, chinese companies cannot enjoy preferential policies when building factories in the united states. not only chinese companies, but also foreign companies including korean companies, when producing batteries and other products in the united states, if the raw materials mainly come from china, according to us policy, these companies also need to pay additional tariffs.

he weiwen, a senior researcher at the center for china and globalization, told the global times on the 29th that in the field of batteries, the united states does not have a deep accumulation and must rely on the technology of companies in china, japan, south korea and other countries. china has advantages in resources, industrial capabilities and supply chains. if the united states wants to completely exclude china and establish an independent battery supply chain, it is still difficult to do so.

it may be too late for the u.s. to build an independent supply chain

there are also concerns in south korea about samsung's investment. the daily economic news reported that according to the us inflation reduction act, samsung sdi can receive a maximum of $1.26 billion in subsidies in cooperation with gm. the hankook ilbo believes that the us will hold a general election in november this year, and the announcement of gm and samsung's electric vehicle battery investment plan at this time is also eye-catching. it is still unknown whether the inflation reduction act formulated by the democratic party will continue to be implemented after the election.

regarding the "ambition" of korean companies in the us market, he weiwen said in an interview with the global times that in the field of new energy vehicles, even though chinese companies have difficulty entering due to the us blockade, and south korea has gained an advantage, the us market is very large and it is impossible for korean companies to swallow it all at once. "for south korea, even in the era of fuel vehicles, the performance of korean cars in the us market is also mediocre, and there is no way to compete with japanese, european and american local brands. in the field of new energy vehicles, korean car companies are currently not performing better than chinese car companies."

the guardian quoted michael dunne, founder of electric vehicle consulting firm dunne insights, as saying that the united states is "years behind in batteries, battery supply chains and key minerals". voice of america said that observers believe that at least in the lithium industry chain, it may be too late for the united states to completely break away from china and build an independent supply chain. david whittle, a professor at the department of resource engineering at monash university in australia, said that even if countries build a strong and independent lithium supply chain, china will still be the largest customer of these chemicals because it is the largest battery manufacturer, the largest battery pack manufacturer, the largest electric vehicle manufacturer and the largest electric vehicle market.