n n n ‘. concat(e. i18n. t(“search. voice. recognition_retry”),’n
By Ebru Tuncay and Heekyong Yang
ANKARA/SEOUL (Reuters) – Turkey’s Koc Holding Group said on Friday it had revoked an earlier agreement with Ford and South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) for a joint venture to produce battery cells for advertising vehicles.
The three companies signed a non-binding agreement in February to form a joint venture aimed at creating one of Europe’s largest mobile installations with electric vehicle (EV) batteries near the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“Given the current speed of EV adoption, now is not an appropriate time to invest in battery cells,” Koc Holding said in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).
“Ford and Koc Holding will remain committed to supporting EV production at Ford Otosan’s Kocaeli plant and will compare potential long-term battery cell investments based on EV market dynamics,” he said.
LGES, which supplies EV batteries to Ford, General Motors, Tesla and others, said the three corporations mutually agreed to abandon the task because of the current speed of customer adoption of electrification.
“LG Energy Solution and Ford are working together on a plan for the production of battery cells for this electric vehicle from LG Energy Solution’s existing operations, expanding long-standing business between the companies,” LGES said in a statement.
In October, LGES warned of a slowdown in earnings expansion in 2024 due to global economic uncertainties affecting EV sales prospects, adding to a growing number of automakers and suppliers expressing caution about EV demand.
Higher funding prices due to emerging interest rates and faltering expansion in primary economies such as China and Europe are seen as having an effect on car buyers.
LGES has production facilities in the United States, South Korea, China, Poland, Indonesia and Canada.
(Reporting via Ebru Tuncay in Ankara and Heekyong Yang in Seoul; writing via Huseyin Hayatsever; editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Diane Craft)