SK On is aiming for a recovery with an agreement to exclusively supply battery cells to Slate, a US-based electric vehicle startup backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
According to media reports Thursday, Slate unveiled the Slate Truck to the public in Michigan on Sunday, and the company will host another event in Detroit from Saturday to Sunday. The compact, highly customizable electric pickup truck will launch next year.
SK On and Slate announced a supply deal covering 20 gigawatt-hour battery cells in April, making SK On the first official battery supplier. The capacity is enough to power 300,000 units of the EV maker’s upcoming Slate Truck from 2026 to 2031.
Industry insiders anticipate that SK On could potentially benefit from Slate’s competitive pricing strategy, having already surpassed 100,000 preorders in two weeks in June. This figure represents nearly half of the one-week preorder volume for Tesla’s new Cybertruck.
The Slate Truck is expected to be priced from $27,500 before tax credits, a price point less than half of existing electric pickups in the US. Notably, major electric pickup trucks on the market start at significantly higher prices — approximately $55,000 for the Ford F-150 Lightning and $70,000 for the Rivian R1T, respectively, and over $60,000 for the Cybertruck.
SK On highlighted that Slate’s low-price strategy is poised to capitalize on the rapid growth of the US electrified light truck segment. According to a recent report from the Washington-based Automobile Innovation Alliance, electric sport utility vehicles, pickups and vans will account for about 79 percent of total EV sales in the region by the first quarter of 2025.
“Slate’s reasonable pricing strategy offers eco-friendly vehicle options to consumers who have been unable to afford high-priced electric cars and are largely underserved in the current EV market. This approach aligns with SK On’s vision to make EVs accessible to a broader consumer base,” said an industry source familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity.
As SK On pushes into mid- and lower-priced EV markets beyond its traditional premium segment, investors and analysts are watching closely to see whether the battery maker can swing to profitability in the second quarter.
From January to March, SK On reported sales of 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion), down 4.6 percent from a year earlier. However, its operating loss narrowed by 9.7 percent to 299.3 billion won.
By byun hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)
