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Hanwha Pledges Canadian Auto Partnerships in Submarine Bid
South Korean Group Ties Armored Vehicle Plans to Canada Naval Contract Pitch
South Korea’s Hanwha Group said it will partner with Canadian auto parts firms to build armored vehicles if it wins a contract to build a new submarine fleet for Canada.
The conglomerate is competing for a lucrative submarine deal with a German rival, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government plans to buy as many as 12 submarines worth tens of billions of Canadian dollars but is pushing the bidding groups to include other industrial benefits in their pitches.
TKMS and Thyssenkrupp Materials NA are subsidiaries of Thyssenkrupp AG. Thyssenkrupp Materials NA ranks No. 97 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
Hanwha made the announcement at an auto parts plant in the Toronto region alongside representatives from Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association.
“This is more than a submarine contract — it is Hanwha’s promise to strengthen Canada’s industrial capacity and economic sovereignty,” Steve SK Jeong, Hanwha Ocean Co.’s head of naval ship international business, said in a release.
Both Hanwha and TKMS have announced a series of agreements with Canadian companies pledging domestic economic benefits if they win the contract. Hanwha’s April 29 statement promised to use Canadian-made steel and aluminum — two industries that have suffered under U.S. tariffs that have curbed exports.
The company said the proposed joint venture with the APMA aligns with Canada’s new defense industrial strategy, which aims to spend as much of the country’s rapidly growing military budget at home as possible.
Hanwha and the APMA would establish a Canadian automotive business unit that would be focused exclusively on the design and production of industrial and heavy military vehicles for Canada and allied nations, the release said.
It would protect and create tens of thousands of Canadian auto jobs, it said.
“This joint venture will deliver on the prime minister’s challenge to Canada’s automotive sector to help drive the country’s unprecedented commitment to national defense,” APMA President Flavio Volpe said.
The Canadian auto sector has been hurt by tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, who slapped a 25% import tax on cars and trucks last year. For vehicles made in Canada and Mexico, the tariff is reduced by the amount of U.S. content inside the vehicle.
Carney’s government has also made it clear it wants to see Korean auto factories in Canada. Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. both have strong consumer sales in the country but don’t assemble vehicles there.
A final decision on the submarines is expected by the end of June.
