South Korea’s two biggest electric-vehicle battery makers— LG Chem Ltd. andSamsung SDI Co.—have failed to get battery certifications from China, dealing a blow to their plans to expand capacity in the world’s largest auto market. LG and Samsung, which control one-third of the world’s battery market for electric vehicles, said Tuesday their recent applications for certification were rejected.
The decision by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology means that electric cars that use LG or Samsung batteries might be at risk of becoming ineligible for government subsidies. Chinese authorities recently said they are considering limiting the state subsidies presently offered for the purchase of electric cars to only those vehicles with certified batteries, starting as early as 2018.