Hyundai and Kia electric cars with 1000km range possible thanks to new battery deal

Automotive conglomerate Hyundai-Kia is expected to boost its partnership with Chinese tech giant CATL to increase the range of its future electric cars, according to South Korean news outlet Chosun Biz.

In a move that would strengthen the relationship between the two companies that began in 2021, it has been reported Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun met with CATL CEO Zeng Yuquan in South Korea in recent weeks.

Between 70,000 and 140,000 electric cars from Hyundai and Kia are reportedly going to be fitted with the new batteries from next year, according to overseas media reports.

CATL's third-generation 'cell-to-pack' (CTP) battery technology – known as 'Qilin' – is said to improve energy density while simplifying manufacturing and lowering costs while offering a driving range up to 1000 kilometres on a single charge in certain electric cars.

Overseas reports say the CTP 3.0 batteries will be fitted to Hyundai and Kia models destined for Europe and South Korea.

In April 2022, CATL announced it would open a $US6 billion ($AU8.8 billion) factory in Indonesia – just one month after Hyundai opened its first production facility in Indonesia, where it plans to begin building Ioniq 5 electric cars (alongside other models).

As well as being the largest battery manufacturer in the world, CATL is considered by many in the industry to have the most advanced technology, with the company supplying more than half of the electric cars sold in China – and counts car-makers such as BMW, Tesla, and Ford among its customers.

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While Hyundai claims its recently-unveiled Ioniq 6 will have a driving range of 614km when it arrives in Australia in early 2023, Chinese car giant Geely says its luxury Zeekr 009 people mover will have a range of more than 1000km, thanks to CATL Qilin battery technology.

The Qilin batteries are said to be approximately 13 per cent more efficient than Tesla's latest '4680' battery cells – which uses a cylindrical design, also adopted by BMW.

An electric car with a range of 1000km would no doubt be attractive for many motorists in Australia, with distances between Adelaide and Melbourne, Melbourne and Sydney, and Sydney and Brisbane being between 700 and 1000km.