Mahindra-owned SsangYong joins hands with BYD for battery development

Mahindra-owned Korean SUV brand SsangYong has tied up with Chinese automotive brand BYD for supplying batteries for the former's future EV models. SsangYong is currently under court protection and in the process of being taken over by Edison Motors.

• BYD to supply batteries for SsangYong U100 electric vehicle
• Batteries will first be used in SsangYong U100 electric SUV
• BYD recently launched its E6 MPV in India

SsangYong and BYD have signed a technological partnership contract for development of electric vehicle batteries and manufacturing of battery packs, as announced by SsangYong Motor.

The batteries that will be developed under the partnership will first see duty on an upcoming electric SUV from SsangYong, codenamed SsangYong U100, which will go into production in 2023. Both brands have plans to expand the cooperation for joint development of battery packs and EV-only production platforms.

BYD is currently ranked fourth in the world when it comes to EV sales and battery development. The brand also has a decent presence in India with its EV buses being used by various government-run city transport undertakings. Additionally, the brand recently introduced its e6 electric MPV in India. Read our review of the e6 here, or watch BYD e6 video here.

As far as SsangYong goes, the Mahindra-owned brand is currently under court protection. Edison Motors, a relatively young commercial vehicle firm from South Korea, is expected to take over the SsangYong brand in the near future. The company has been incurring huge losses over the last couple of years, which forced Mahindra to stop further investments and look for potential investors last June.

The electric version of the SsangYong Korando, jointly developed with Mahindra, is due to arrive soon, followed by a larger and more ruggedly styled SUV called the J100.

Mahindra also sold rebadged SsangYong products like the previous-gen Rexton and its replacement SUV – the Mahindra Alturas – in India. But, both products had few takers.

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Current Mahindra Scorpio to remain on sale along with new-gen SUV