Korean car giant planned to replace lead-acid with lithium-ion
But negotiation had hit a roadblock over price
Image: Hyundai Motor
Hyundai Motor had up to recently considered using batteries made by China’s CATL in all its vehicle models, TheElec has learned.
The pair had discussed replacing lead-acid batteries used in both gas-run and electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries, sources said.
They have even agreed on the size and specification of the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery to be used, the sources said. But the pair failed to reach an agreement due to disagreements over unit prices, they added.
CATL had proposed supplying 4680 cylinder LFP batteries. Though the diameter was to remain 46mm, the length was proposed to be over 100mm to meet the capacity of lead-acid batteries.
This would have worked by grouping four 3.2V cells into one module….