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Samsung to supply battery for Bentley’s first plug-in hybrid

September 16, 2015
The Bentley Bentayga hybrid will use a Samsung battery. (Courtesy of Bentley Motors)

The Bentley Bentayga hybrid will use a Samsung battery. (Courtesy of Bentley Motors)

SEOUL, Sept. 16 (Yonhap) — Samsung SDI Co., the battery-making unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, will sell its plug-in hybrid vehicle batteries to British luxury automaker Bentley, industry sources said Wednesday, expanding its overseas portfolio in the mid-sized battery business for electric cars.

The Bentley Bentayga, its first-ever plug-in hybrid Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) that was showcased early in the year, will have Samsung SDI equipment installed, according to officials from Volkswagen Group AG, which wholly owns the company.

A spokesperson at Samsung SDI declined to comment, saying that it cannot reveal any information about its clients.

The price of the lavish SUV starts from US$190,000, with its gasoline model to be unveiled next year. The plug-in hybrid model won’t be released until 2017.

Samsung SDI said earlier in the year that it won the contract to supply batteries for Audi’s first diesel plug-in hybrid Q7 e-Tron Quattro.

It counts BMW AG, Delphi Automotive Plc, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. as its major clients.

Its local archrival LG Chem has recently clinched a deal with Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., the world’s top maker of electric vehicles, to sell its electric-car batteries, the sources added.