Simplo Ventures Into Electric Vehicle Battery Biz

Taipei, Sept. 4, 2009 (CENS)--Simplo Technology Co., Ltd., a major notebook PC battery-pack supplier in Taiwan, recently announced that it would soon begin developing business deployments in China's electric-vehicle (EV) market by partnering with a Korean battery-cell maker.

F.H. Song, chairman of Simplo, claimed that his company has participated in the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA)-sponsored science and technology development project to cooperate with the local Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co. Ltd. (HAITEC), to develop the Yulon Group's own-branded EV products.

Simplo is also striving to ramp up its share in the global notebook PC battery market. In addition to Japanese notebook PC makers, Song said, his company has tapped into the supply chains of other major brands in the business. This year, Simplo is expected to maintain its global market share of about 22% by shipping 35 million to 40 million battery packs.

Song admitted that currently both the quality and technology of lithium-ion battery makers in Taiwan and China still lag far behind major counterparts in Japan and South Korea. After visiting Korean companies, Song said that Korean battery makers have strong potential in the EV market due to their cost advantage.

Simplo would strategically develop its EV-battery business in China initially because the Chinese central government has been actively subsidizing EVs to build increasing demand. Song thinks that the Chinese EV market will develop more rapidly than that in the U.S. and Europe.