Samsung SDI said June 16 it would launch a joint venture with Germany's Bosch Corp to produce batteries for hybrid vehicles. The deal signed last week called for the 50-50 joint venture known as SB LiMotive to start production in 2010, it said in a statement.
A Samsung SDI spokesman said the venture would start with $20 million of initial capital and that $500 million would be invested over four or five years.
The South Korean firm said the hybrid vehicle market would grow rapidly in the future amid soaring oil prices and tougher environmental rules.
Samsung SDI, part of the Samsung Group, has been producing batteries largely for computers, mobile handsets and other electronic goods as well as flat display screens. Bosch is a global leader in automobile components.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2008
