US auto parts supplier looks to expand presence in Korea’s EV, battery markets
BorgWarner, a multinational automotive parts supplier, has set eyes on expanding its presence in the electric vehicle and battery sectors in Korea as it is ready to offer products that are already leading in other parts of the global market.
“We have already developed high-voltage coolant heaters (HVCHs), which are 100 percent made for EVs,” said Park Kui-seon, general manager of BorgWarner Korea’s turbo, emissions and thermal plants in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, and Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, during an interview at the Pyeongtaek plant on Tuesday.
An HVCH is an electric heater applied in EVs to manage thermal energy by heating the battery pack. It can keep the battery pack within its optimal temperature range and also provide a source of heat for the inside of a vehicle.
“Right now, our HVCH is the No. 1 in the global market. Hyundai Motor uses a different type, but they have an interest in (our HVCH systems),” he said. “We are talking with Hyundai about preliminary development (of HVCH systems) to enter the Korean EV sector.”
As part of BorgWarner’s global electrification strategy to achieve over $10 billion in EV-related products sales by 2027 to account for almost 50 percent of its total sales, BorgWarner Korea is seeking various channels to secure clients in the EV industry.
“We also developed a battery cooler, which is already in mass production for a customer overseas,” said Park. “As we have a battery cooler in our product portfolio, we are considering cooperation with Korea's leading battery companies."
According to Park, BorgWarner Korea could turn to an unused space at its Chungju site to build a plant for producing such EV-related items as they are already in use in overseas markets.
With the stalling growth of the EV transition across the world, Park noted that BorgWarner acted quickly to cope with the surging demand for hybrid vehicles by developing what it calls the eBooster, an electrically driven compressor working alongside a traditional turbocharger to improve the response and efficiency of an engine.
BorgWarner’s eBooster is supplied to Hyundai Motor’s premium brand Genesis.
“In terms of technology, we are ready and can apply our technology whenever if a client needs it, which is a part of BorgWarner’s core value of product leadership, so we don’t wait until our clients ask us to develop something,” said Park.
“The EV transition in North America has lost power quite a lot. So automakers doing businesses in North America want hybrid-specialized products as hybrid vehicles will serve as a bridge (between internal combustion engine-powered cars and EVs) for some time.”
In the traditional engine sector, BorgWarner has remained the biggest turbocharger supplier in the Korean market since 2010 with the widespread use of gasoline-powered engines equipped with turbochargers among customers.
Although BorgWarner Korea’s Pyeongtaek plant was designed to produce enough turbochargers for some 500,000 cars per year, Park said the site rolled out turbochargers enough for 1.8 million cars last year and is on pace to hit the same figure this year.
According to BorgWarner Korea, the Pyeongtaek plant’s cumulative revenue has surpassed 470 billion won ($326 million) this year.
As for the impact of US tariffs, Park pointed out that having multiple footholds in different parts of the world boosts BorgWarner’s competitiveness in the auto parts supplier market.
“A strength of a global company, BorgWarner has plants in the US and Mexico,” he said. “So if a client wants to avoid the tariffs and asks for local production in North America, we can respond to that. The US site could produce what we make here based on the same design.”
Besides Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis, the client list of BorgWarner Korea includes KG Mobility, Renault Korea and Doosan Infracore.
With the global headquarters’ emphasis on environmental, social and governance initiatives, BorgWarner Korea has focused on improving gender diversity and reducing carbon emissions.
“When we hire a new person and conduct interviews, there has to be a female candidate,” said Park, who joined BorgWarner Korea in 2004.
“Frankly, that is not easy to do in the domestic market. Especially when we are hiring engineers. But we are trying to care about this whereas it was not considered important 20 years ago.”
Mentioning solar panels installed in the parking lot of the Pyeongtaek plant, the general manager noted that the company expects to set up similar panels on top of the plant itself within the next few years.
Thanking employees who have been part of the firm’s rapid growth and various volatilities such as sudden, dynamic changes in team members and production lines, Park proudly said the company has not experienced any major problems.
“There are some plants that made changes to produce hybrid and EV parts in Europe and the US as they had secured a good amount of orders,” he said. “I hope we can do that as well to diversify our business structure.”
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