[백브리핑AI] SK On-Ford, Turkiye battery joint venture ‘Musan’… “End of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies”

[인포스탁데일리=김영택 기자] The battery joint venture project that SK On decided to build in Turkiye with Ford, an American automaker, eventually collapsed.

On the 7th, the Turkiye Coach Group announced that “the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ford and SK On has ended regarding investment in the production of batteries for electric commercial vehicles.”

Previously, SK On signed an MOU with Ford and Coach to establish a joint venture in March last year, and invested 3 to 4 trillion won (a total of three companies) to build a battery joint venture near Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

Through this, it was planned to start commercial production at a scale of 30 to 45 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year from 2025.

However, investment discussions were sluggish due to the economic downturn and high interest rates, and eventually the MOU was officially terminated with mutual consent of the three companies.

In the industry, it is believed that the coach’s announcement on this day made it official that Ford is holding hands with LG Energy Solutions, not SK On.

Bloomberg News reported earlier last month that Ford is planning to build an electric vehicle battery factory in Turkiye with LG Energy Solutions instead of SK On, and plans to sign an MOU for this soon.

Regarding this, LG Energy Solutions said, “It is under discussion, but no specific details have been decided yet.”

Meanwhile, SK On plans to continue cooperation with Ford in the future, apart from the Turkiye plant.

Reporter Kim Young-taek Ykim98@gmail.com

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