Global automaker Stellantis and tech giant Samsung recently announced entering into a joint venture to establish a $2.25 billion electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana in the United States.
The car battery plant expected to commence in 2025 aims to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), with an aim to increase to 33 GWh in the next few years.
The total capacity would increase further as demand for Stellantis electric vehicles is expected to rise.
The joint venture announced on Tuesday aims to help Stellantis reach its ambitious electrification targets by 2030 as it aims to create 1,400 new jobs in Kokomo and the surrounding areas. The investment could gradually increase to $3.1 billion (€2.9 billion) in the following years of operation.
The new manufacturing facility will supply battery modules for a range of 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.
The investment is important, especially for Samsung SDI, which has a chance to significantly expand its business in the U.S.
The joint venture was earlier announced in October 2021 as part of the multinational automotive company’s Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan to have global annual battery electric vehicle sales of five million vehicles by 2030, reaching 100% of passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe, and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in North America.
Stellantis which was the result of the merger between French automaker PSA Peugeot and Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2021 currently has a wide selection of vehicles from its North American car brands like Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and RAM and its European brands Peugeot, Opel, Fiat, Maserati, and Citroen.
The world’s 5th largest automaker, Stellantis, also increased planned battery capacity by 140 GWh to approximately 400 GWh, to 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 through 2025 in electrification and software globally.
“Just under one year ago, we committed to an aggressive electrification strategy anchored by five gigafactories between Europe and North America,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis.
“Today’s announcement further solidifies our global battery production footprint and demonstrates Stellantis’ drive toward a decarbonized future outlined in Dare Forward 2030. I am grateful to Governor Holcomb and Secretary Chambers along with Mayor Moore, and their teams as well as to all my colleagues for their support and dedication to bring this operation to Kokomo, a city that holds a rich and long history for our company.”
“We express our gratitude towards officials from the State of Indiana and Stellantis for supporting the final selection of the plant site in Indiana,” said Yoon-Ho Choi, chief executive officer of Samsung SDI.
“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.”
At the Indiana factory, Samsung SDI will be applying its cutting-edge technology PRiMX to producing EV battery cells and modules for the North American market. Samsung has launched its premium battery technology brand PRiMX as an industry’s first last year and unveiled the brand at CES 2022 in January.
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, reaching 100% of passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in North America. Stellantis also increased planned battery capacity by 140 GWh to approximately 400 GWh, to 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 (€30 billion) through 2025 in electrification and software globally.