SK Innovation Co. will supply electric vehicle (EV) batteries to its Chinese partner, Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group).

BAIC’s MARK 5, set to be released in the second half of this year, will be powered by EV batteries being produced at BEST, SK Innovation’s first EV battery cell manufacturing plant outside South Korea.

SK Innovation invested US$141 million in 2013 to set up an EV battery joint venture named BESK with Beijing Automotive Group and Beijing Electronics to tap deeper into the world's largest EV market. BEST is BESK’s wholly owned subsidiary.

BEST’s annual production capacity is 7.5 gigawatt hours (GWh)—enough to supply batteries for 150,000 EVs.

SK Innovation owns a 49% stake in BEST, with the rest held by Beijing Automotive Group and Beijing Electronics.