[THE INVESTOR] Samsung SDI, the battery-making unit of Samsung Group, said on Aug. 24 it has not yet made a final decision on the location of its planned European plant, denying a news report that it was narrowing options between Hungary and other European countries.

“We are continuing talks with local governments, but the final destination has not yet been decided,” said a Samsung SDI spokesperson.

The company, a sole battery supplier to BMW’s hybrid and fully electric cars, has been seeking to beef up production of lithium-ion batteries in Europe with aims to diversify its corporate clients there.

One of the highly cited locations is Hungary, where the company owns a Braun tube production plant whose operations have been suspended since 2007. Germany is also likely to be considered as it is home to several top carmakers.

In a conference call in July, the company hinted it was in final talks to set up a new production base in Europe.

Early this year, the company’s new battery plant in Xian, China also started operations.

The two battery plants in Korea and China now produce batteries for some 200,000 fully electric vehicles.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)