LG Energy Solution cuts investment scale for the first time amid sluggish EV market in South Korea

LG Energy Solutions, a major battery manufacturer, has announced plans to reduce its investment scale for the first time since its founding. CFO Lee Sang-chil said, "We are reducing our investment scale to meet the demand from small and medium-sized businesses."
"We have decided to scale back our investments in new and expanded facilities, which are essential for securing production capacity in the U.S. and North America," he said. The reason behind the company's cautious stance on investment is the deterioration of its performance in the January-March period.
Sales for the same period were 6.1287 trillion won (approximately 693.459 billion yen), down 29.9% from the same period last year, operating profit was 157.3 billion won (approximately 17.79654 billion yen), down 75.2%, and
The worsening performance was due to factors including the stagnation of the overall market and a drop in sales prices due to the fall in metal prices. The poor performance is expected to continue in the April-June period.
The company has lowered its forecast for the penetration rate of electric vehicles (EVs) in 2030 from the current 50% to around 40%.
The company plans to sell new products such as lithium-iron-phosphate (Eon) batteries (LFP batteries) and expand its energy storage system (ESS) business, which is growing relatively quickly.
In addition, the Indonesian factory established jointly with Hyundai Motor began mass production in April, and from July, the European automobile manufacturer Stefan Schneider, which was established in Ontario, Canada,
The joint venture factory with Lantis is also scheduled to begin operations.