Magna, LG partner on joint venture for electric powertrains

Magna International has entered into a joint venture with LG Electronics to create LG Magna e-Powertrain, a new company headquartered in Incheon, South Korea.

Leading the new company will be CEO Cheong Won-suk, a 20-year LG veteran who was most recently vice-president and head of the LG Vehicle Component Solutions company’s green business. Prior to LG, Cheong spent nearly a decade with Daewoo Motors R&D.

Javier Perez, who has been with the Aurora, Ont.–based Magna since 2016, will be the new company’s COO. He will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the joint venture. Perez brings nearly a quarter-century of automotive manufacturing and quality control experience to LG Magna e-Powertrain, 18 of those years based in Asia.

The creation of the joint venture unifies Magna’s strength in electric powertrain systems and automotive manufacturing, with LG’s expertise in component development for e-motors and inverters. LG Magna e-Powertrain will manufacture e-motors, inverters and on-board chargers and, for certain automakers, related e-drive systems.

The new company will also offer complete solutions enabling electrification and functionality to integrating intelligent operating software and controls in new e-drive systems.

“The market for e-motors, inverters and electric drive systems is expected to have significant growth between now and 2030,” says Perez.

“Leveraging existing technologies, engineering capabilities and global footprints, LG Magna e-Powertrain seeks to enable advancements that help automakers achieve some of the biggest challenges ahead in electrifying their full vehicle lineups.”

LG Magna e-Powertrain will be made up of more than 1,000 employees in the United States, South Korea and China.