Stellantis, Samsung to build second battery plant in US

Stellantis, Samsung to build second battery plant in US
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 23: An electric Ford truck is displayed during the Electrify Expo In D.C. on July 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. The expo highlighted new and soon-to-be-released electric cars, bikes and other technology. Nathan Howard/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Nathan Howard / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
PARIS, France, July 24 – US-European automaker Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot, and a Samsung subsidiary plan to build a second electric car battery factory in the United States, the companies said Monday.

The location of the facility has yet to be announced but Stellantis and South Korea’s Samsung SDI said it would start production in 2027, with an initial annual output capacity of 34 gigawatt hours (GWh).

It would be able to produce hundreds of thousands of vehicles made by Stellantis.

Stellantis, whose US brands include Chrysler, Dodge, Ram and Jeep, plans to have electric vehicles account for 50 percent of its sales in the United States by 2030.

“This new facility will contribute to reaching our aggressive target to offer at least 25 new battery electric vehicles for the North American market by the end of the decade,” Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares said in a statement.

The company is seeking to secure around 400 GWh of battery capacity to achieve its sales target.

Stellantis and Samsung SDI are already building a gigafactory in Kokomo, Indiana — an investment of between $2.5 billion and $3.1 billion — with production slated to begin in 2025 and a 33-GWh capacity.

Samsung SDI, which specialises in the production of electric car batteries, announced in April a joint venture with General Motors to build a $3 billion factory in the United States.

The company, part of the sprawling Samsung group, already has EV battery plants in Vietnam, China, Hungary and elsewhere.

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