Kim Long Motors orders cells from LG Energy Solution

The Vietnamese vehicle manufacturer Kim Long Motor is setting up its own battery assembly facility in its home country and intends to assemble cells from LG Energy Solution into packs there in future. The cells are to be cylindrical units with NMC chemistry.

According to a company press release, both sides have signed a letter of intent for the delivery of cells. These are to be assembled into packs at the Kim Long Motor Industrial Park in Hue, central Vietnam. The corresponding, highly automated plant is currently under construction and is scheduled to go into operation in early 2026, according to the OEM. Kim Long Motor estimates the initial production capacity at one GWh per year, which is to be expanded in the following years.

Le Quang Dat, vice chairman of Kim Long Motors’ board of directors, commented: “Through cooperation with LG Energy Solution, a world-class battery company, we will be able to secure a stable supply chain and thoroughly manage quality. This will not only enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese electric vehicles but also serve as an opportunity for Vietnam to leap forward as a center of clean energy industry in Asia and the world.”

Kim Long Motor has set itself the goal of localising over 80 per cent of its vehicle production by the second quarter of 2026. Battery assembly is set to make an essential contribution to this. In principle, Vietnam is also politically very ambitious when it comes to the transformation to electromobility.

The newspaper Business Korea adds that the round cells to be supplied are likely to be the 46 series from LG Energy Solution and are intended for Kim Long Motor’s electric buses. Kim Long Motor is expected to have completed a vehicle plant in the Vietnamese province of Hue in 2024, which is mainly dedicated to bus assembly. In addition, the company is also currently building a passenger car plant with an annual capacity of 50,000 units, according to Business Korea. The young brand is a subsidiary of the Vietnamese transport company Phu Tai Group, which assembles vehicles with both electric and conventional combustion engines.

We recently reported on Kim Long Motor in connection with a large electric bus delivery to Ho Chi Minh City. The local brand handed over 443 new electric buses to put 27 electric bus routes into operation in Vietnam’s largest city.

businesskorea.co.kr, kimlongmotor.com.vn

This article was first published by Cora Werwitzke for electrive’s German edition.