Hyundai signs agreement with Magna E-Car to produce batteries in Canada
Hyundai Heavy Industries and Magna E-Car Systems signed an agreement today to develop and produce electric car batteries in Canada, according to The Korea Herald.
The joint venture plans on producing up to 800,000 battery packs annually by 2020 with up to eight plants throughout North America and Europe. Hyundai’s goal is to produce 30 percent of electric vehicles in these markets by 2020.
Lee Choong-dong, senior executive vice president of Hyundai Heavy’s green energy unit: “We want to jump into a global, integrated eco-friendly energy group by preempting the fledgling market in Europe and North America and actively propelling our power storage system operations.”
Magna E-Car has a hand in the Ford Focus Electric, along with Volvo and General Motors. Hyundai currently offers no electric vehicles (EVs). A Sonata hybrid is available, and Hyundai has a concept called the i-oniq that offers a powertrain that is similar conceptually to the Chevrolet Volt.