Under the terms of the deal, LG will also supply the battery cells for Ssangyong Motor, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra.
The deal includes LG’s commitment to develop and supply different types of lithium ion battery cells for Mahindra Electric, a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra, too.
Mahindra Electric is a sole 100% dedicated electric car maker in India that not only manufactures EVs, but also produces EV battery modules and packs for Mahindra and other automakers across the world.
Meanwhile, Mahindra said it plans to seize facility and capacity enough to produce 500,000 battery modules, and will establish a battery pack manufacturing facility in India. The new facilities are scheduled to come on line sometime in the first quarter of 2020.
The car market in India has been growing at an annual average compound rate of 7~8% since 2015. In 2017 alone, approximately 4.01 million units of new cars were sold in India, which makes India the world’s 4th largest car market.
The Indian government has a plan to gradually phase out combustion engine cars through 2030 and then permit sales of only electric cars, promising to spur rapid growth of Indian electric car market.
Kim Jonghyun, head of battery business and vice president at LG Chem, said “We are glad to cooperate with Mahindra & Mahindra. The partnership will help accelerate the development of electric car and revitalize the electric car market.”
Hemant Sikka, CPO at Mahindra&Mahindra, said “The partnership with LG will help us to lead the fast-growing Indian electric car market. The company will work together with LG to roll out the most competitive EVs and increase our production capacity to keep up with the growing demand.”
