Magna, LG partner on joint venture for electric powertrains

The LG Magna e-Powertrain headquarters in Incheon, South Korea. Image Credit: Magna International Inc.

Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. 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,” Magna officials said in a July 28 news release. “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,” Perez said in the news release. “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 U.S., South Korea, and China.