Stellantis, a global mobility player with 14 brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Fiat, Citroën and Jeep, and Samsung SDI,a battery and electronics manufacturer, have announced a partnership to establish an electric-vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility in the USA. The plant, which will be located in Kokomo, Indiana, will start production in 2025.
The new plant aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), with the aim of increasing to 3GWh in the next few years. The total capacity would increase further as demand for Stellantis electric vehicles is expected to rise.
The joint venture will invest over $2.5 billion (£1.99 billion/€2.3 billion) and create 1,400 new jobs in Kokomo and the surrounding areas. The investment could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion (€2.9 billion).
The new facility will supply batteries for a range of electric vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North American assembly plants. Plant construction activities are scheduled to begin later this year with production operations planned to launch in the first quarter of 2025.
This news follows Stellantis’ announcement that it will be developing its first large scale electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Canada with LG Energy Solution (LGES). Between these two facilities, they will meet a significant portion of Stellantis’ vehicle production requirements in North America.
Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO, said: “Just under one year ago, we committed to an aggressive electrification strategy anchored by five gigafactories between Europe and North America.
“Today’s announcement further solidifies our global battery production footprint and demonstrates Stellantis’ drive toward a decarbonised future outlined in Dare Forward 2030.
Yoon-Ho Choi, Samsung SDI CEO, said: “We have secured a solid foothold in a rapidly growing North American EV market through the joint venture with Stellantis.
“We will make sincere efforts to bring satisfaction to the market with top-class quality products in the future, and we will contribute towards meeting the climate change target.”
Eric Holcomb, Governor of Indiana, said: “It’s another incredibly exciting day to be back in Kokomo celebrating such a transformational investment from Stellantis and our new partners at Samsung.
“Today’s announcement is another step toward positioning Indiana as a leader in the future of mobility, battery technology and clean energy.”
Brad Chambers, secretary of commerce for Indiana Economic Development Corporation, said: “This significant venture with Stellantis and Samsung SDI is squarely in line with our 5E focus on the energy transition and building an economy of the future. The economic growth and momentum in our state this year is unprecedented.”
At the Indiana factory, Samsung SDI will use its PRiMX cutting-edge technology to produce electric vehicle batteries for the North American market. Samsung launched its premium battery technology brand PRiMX last year.
As part of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis announced plans to have global annual battery electric vehicle sales of five million vehicles by 2030. The company plans to have 100 percent of passenger car battery electric vehicles (BEV) sales mix in Europe, with 50 percent passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in North America.
Stellantis also increased planned battery capacity by 140GWh to approximately 400GWh. This will be supported by five battery manufacturing plants together with additional supply contracts. This announcement is part of the long-term electrification strategy to invest $35 billion (£28 billion/€30 billion) through 2025 in electrification and software globally.
