SK Signet looks to double growth in 2023: chief

SK Signet, the producer of electric vehicle (EV) battery chargers under South Korea's SK Group, said Friday it aims to double annual sales this year from 2022 pushed by robust overseas demand, and market expansion in the United States.

CEO Shin Jung-ho made these remarks at CES 2023 taking place in Las Vegas this week as he predicted a rosy outlook particularly for overseas markets such as the U.S. and Europe, citing burgeoning EV demand and various government subsidy programs for related products.

"The U.S. has the NEVI subsidy program and Europe has similar EV support initiatives. We expect 2023 will be the first year that we see a rapid growth in the U.S. market," Shin said during a meeting with reporters on the sidelines of the U.S. tech show.

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (NEVI) provides subsidies to EV charger manufacturers that produce locally in the U.S.

SK Signet is targeting 320 billion won ($252 million) in sales this year, up from 160 billion won generated in 2022, which was also double that from the previous year.

The company said in November that it would build a production facility in Texas, with the aim to start pilot operations in the first quarter of this year. When completed, it will annually produce more than 10,000 ultra-fast EV battery chargers.

Shin said the company is also considering expanding production lines to increase capacity to 20,000 chargers per year.

"I met many clients and power bloggers at CES today, and the first question they asked was when deliveries could be made," he noted. "They're practically making pre-orders before negotiating the price."

SK Signet, currently No. 1 in the U.S. market with an over 50 percent market share, is making further inroads into Europe, where EV demand is strong. It set up an office in Frankfurt in 2022 and bagged new orders in the U.K.

At this year's CES, SK Signet presented its V2, an ultra-fast charger that can charge an EV's battery from 20 percent to 80 percent in 18 minutes. (Yonhap)