Chongqing Changan Automobile has signed a strategic agreement with South Korean chemical product maker LG Chem for the research and development of lithium-ion batteries used in new energy vehicles. The two sides are negotiating about details of the cooperation with the intention of setting up a joint venture in Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area, said Ren Yong, deputy general manager of the Chinese firm’s subsidiary Chongqing Changan New Energy.

LG Chem supplies Li-ion batteries to Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors and is also a partner of General Motors, said LG Chem’s CEO Kim Bahn Suk.

By the end of 2010, Changan had launched eight new energy auto models.