LG to Provide NMC Batteries for Electric Buses Manufactured by Kim Long Motor
Kim Long Motor, a Vietnamese automobile company, has announced a collaboration with South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution. This partnership aims to ensure a steady supply of batteries for Kim Long Motor's electric vehicles, particularly for their electric buses.
The dedicated facility for assembling the battery systems will be established by Kim Long Motor on a 22-acre plot in the industrial area of Huế, Vietnam. Production at this pack assembly site is scheduled to begin in early 2026. The first phase of the pack assembly site will have an annual capacity of one gigawatt-hour.
Kim Long Motor will be responsible for assembling the supplied battery cells into complete battery systems. These battery cells are of the cylindrical NMC type, provided by LG Energy Solution. The production process at the pack assembly site will have an automation rate of up to 90 percent.
The collaboration also aims to achieve a localization rate exceeding 80 percent in the long term. Further expansion of the pack assembly site is planned for the following years, but the financing entity for this expansion is not specified in the available search results.
Once the pack assembly site is operational, Kim Long Motor will assemble electric buses using battery cells from LG Energy Solution. The production of electric buses with LG Energy Solution's battery cells is set to begin in early 2026.
This partnership is a significant step for both companies, as it marks Kim Long Motor's foray into electric vehicle battery production and LG Energy Solution's expansion into the Vietnamese market. The investment in the pack assembly site is approximately 46 million US dollars, demonstrating the commitment of both parties to this collaboration.
