中 Sunwada Battery even infringes patent on quality lawsuit... "There's no wind that's easy."

*This content was translated by AI.

Sunwoda (欣旺达) battery is one of the major lithium-ion battery manufacturers in China and is one of the top 10 manufacturers in China. However, the Chinese battery manufacturer's recent move seems to be simply walking in the fog.

Last year, LG Ensol filed a lawsuit against sales in Germany after judging that Sunwada violated LG Ensol's two separation membrane technologies. The German court ruled in favor of LG Ensol. It also decided to ban sales in Germany. In addition, a court measure was taken to recover and dispose of Sunwada's remaining batteries. It is the first time that Sunwada's battery has made an admission overseas that it has infringed on its patents, and it has emerged as a big news story for Chinese battery makers.

However, the problem is that it is also affecting the Korean automobile market. According to the government and the business community on the 3rd, the Trade Commission of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy launched an investigation into "infringement of patent rights of battery packs for automobiles" last month. According to a patent management company entrusted with LG Ensol's patent, the actual subject of the Trade Commission's unfair trade practices investigation against China's Sunwada batteries has been identified as Renault Korea's key model "Grand Coleos" equipped with Sunwada batteries. The focus of attention adds to the seriousness of the issue that batteries, a key component of Grand Corleos, could lead to import bans or sales suspension depending on the outcome of the Trade Commission's patent dispute. According to a Renault Korea official, Renault Korea expressed regret, saying, "The damage from Sunwada was caused by Renault Korea."

Volvo Korea is also Sunwa The 2024-2025 EX30 equipped with batteries has entered a complex situation. First of all, on January 23, a massive recall of the EX30 was carried out. It's a so-called 'medical recall'. The reason for the recall is due to concerns about "vehicle fires," and the defective device is a high-voltage battery. The main reason is that the possibility of a short circuit inside the cell due to manufacturing process deviation has been confirmed. The problem is Volvo Korea's corrective action, and according to Volvo Korea's customer notice, all it does is limit the battery's charging rate to 70% or less before the decision of the action method is made. In fact, it is questionable whether Volvo Korea has established the principle of response.

It has also begun adjusting its selling price, which is a promise to consumers. Volvo Korea has decided to cut the prices of its EX30 and EX30CC by up to 7.61 million won in a press release on the 20th. Nominally, it cited the expansion of the supply of electric vehicles and strengthening customer access. It is notable that it chose to lower the market price itself instead of a temporary discount. This strategic judgment proves that Volvo has also jumped into the war to cut electric vehicle prices, starting with Tesla.

Sunwada Battery has also been embroiled in a lawsuit in China, and it seems that the situation has only recently ended. In December 2025, Geely Motor Co's key EV component arm, Beirui, came to the surface when it filed a lawsuit against Sunwada's battery division subsidiary (Sunwoda EVB) in the Ningbo Intermediate People's Court. Beirui claimed that the battery cells supplied from Sunwada between June 2021 and December 2023 were defective. The battery is mainly mounted on Geely Motor's top brand Zicker. In the case of Zicker 001 among Zicker brands, as the vehicle's driving distance increased, users had problems such as a decrease in charging speed and an error in displaying the remaining battery capacity. As a result, large-scale battery replacement costs were incurred, Geely Motors held Sunwada responsible. Geely Automobile Co. has claimed about 430 billion won in damages. It was the highest amount ever charged to a single supplier in the history of Chinese batteries.

The lawsuit between the two parties was recently concluded. Sunwada agreed to pay about 117 billion won to Geely Motors, deciding to take ownership of the replaced battery and reuse it as recycling or ESS (energy storage device).

The battery industry's legal battle is not a story from yesterday to today. In addition to the litigation battle between LG Ensol and SK Innovation, lawsuits between competitors such as CATL, CALB, and Tapay are also active in China. Patent lawsuits between Chinese and American companies are also being filed in various ways. However, it is difficult to find a wide range of problems in various models using this battery like the Sunwada battery.

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*This content was translated by AI.