Samsung SDI Sales Team to Be Directly Supervised by CEO

According to foreign media reports, Samsung SDI has recently merged its sales teams into a single department, which is now directly overseen by its CEO Choi Joo-sun. This move is clearly aimed at increasing battery orders for applications ranging from electric vehicles to energy storage systems.

Image source: Samsung SDI

Sources revealed that Samsung SDI reorganized its Strategic Marketing Office earlier this month, as part of an overall organizational restructuring.

Previously,Samsung SDI's sales teams, which belonged to different battery business units, have now been integrated into a unified strategic marketing office that reports directly to the CEO.

A source stated, "The elevation of the Strategic Marketing Office's status indicates Samsung SDI's firm determination to drive sales and secure overseas orders." Another source confirmed this adjustment and said, "This move is a strategic measure aimed at consolidating all customer order management functions into a single organization."

Before 2021, Samsung SDI’s Strategic Marketing Office operated independently. Afterwards, it was split into three business divisions: First, the Small Battery Division, responsible for cylindrical and pouch lithium-ion batteries used in electronic devices and two-wheelers; second, the Medium and Large Battery Division, responsible for prismatic and cylindrical batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems; and third, the Electronic Materials Division. It is reported that even within each division, marketing activities are managed separately according to application scenarios and battery types.

A source added, "This adjustment helps achieve more efficient and streamlined supply agreements, such as reaching 'comprehensive cooperation plans' with global OEMs like General Motors and Tesla, who have long sought battery products in various forms and for multiple application scenarios."

This restructuring also sends a signal: compared to its competitors LG Energy Solution and SK On (both of which still retain independent sales teams for their respective business units), Samsung SDI is adopting a more aggressive strategy in acquiring corporate orders.

Samsung SDI is ramping up its efforts at a time when it has experienced operating losses for two consecutive quarters. The main reasons for these losses include weak demand for electric vehicle batteries from OEMs, as well as declining profitability in the U.S. energy storage system market (partly related to tariffs on automobiles and related components).

In this year's second-quarter earnings call, Samsung SDI pledged to intensify efforts to compete for global battery orders. Kim Jong-sung, Executive Vice President of the Business Management Office at Samsung SDI, said, "We have secured an order for 46mm diameter cylindrical batteries from a leading global OEM in Europe (for high-end electric vehicles) and are currently in negotiations with a North American startup for a commercial electric vehicle battery supply contract."

Kim Jong-sung also revealed that Samsung SDI is simultaneously negotiating two collaborations with another major European automaker: one is for the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) prismatic batteries used in entry-level electric vehicles, and the other is for the nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) prismatic batteries used in commercial vehicles.

Kim Soo-hwan, head of Samsung SDI's medium and large battery division, stated that the company had previously focused on a high-end electric vehicle battery strategy, but in view of the rapid growth of the economy electric vehicle market, it now plans to include the entry-level market as a target.

In the field of energy storage systems, Samsung SDI plans to shift part of the production capacity of its first battery cell plant, jointly constructed with Stellantis, from electric vehicle batteries to energy storage system batteries. Kim Soo-hwan emphasized that with the large-scale mass production plan set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year, the company has already secured orders for this production line until next year.