Volkswagen
SKI had won an order from Volkswagen to supply e-car batteries in the USA in 2018 from bigger rival LG Chem.
(Photo: dpa)
Washington In the legal dispute between two South Korean battery manufacturers in the United States, Volkswagen is asking the authorities for a concession to secure electric car production. On Friday, the Wolfsburg-based car manufacturer demanded a longer grace period for its US subsidiary to purchase from the supplier SK Innovation (SKI). You have become a victim of the dispute.
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) sided with battery manufacturer LG Chem, which had sued SKI for theft of trade secrets. Among other things, the ITC only allows SKI to import components for the production of lithium-ion batteries in the USA for Volkswagen for two years and for the US car maker Ford for four years.
Volkswagen has now applied for the exemption to be extended to at least four years in order to ensure an appropriate transition period. But it is hoped that the two suppliers will settle the dispute out of court, the company said.
The background to this is a legal dispute that has been raging between the two battery manufacturers since 2019. SKI had won an order from Volkswagen to supply e-car batteries in the USA in 2018 from bigger rival LG Chem.
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In early 2019, SKI began building a $ 1.7 billion factory in Georgia, USA. From there, batteries are to be delivered to the VW plant in Chattanooga, around 200 kilometers away, from 2022. SKI also wants to supply Ford from Georgia. Volkswagen and Ford had already warned of the consequences of the dispute for production and jobs in the US amid the Corona crisis.
The Georgia authorities are already worried about losing their jobs. Governor Brian Kemp asked the new US President Joe Biden on Friday to overturn the ITC ruling because the import restrictions threatened the long-term prospects for the multi-billion dollar SKI plant. Biden has 60 days to make a decision.
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