On May 24, Stellantis announced it had picked an Indiana location to establish an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility. The $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will create 1,400 jobs in Kokomo, Indiana, according to a press release.
By Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy
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The plant’s construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with production operations planned to launch in the first quarter of 2025. The plant will have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours (GWh), with an aim to increase to 33 GWh over the next few years. In addition, the companies said that the investment could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion. The new facility will supply battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North American assembly plants.
“Just under one year ago, we committed to an aggressive electrification strategy anchored by five gigafactories between Europe and North America,” Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said in the release. “Today’s announcement further solidifies our global battery production footprint and demonstrates Stellantis’ drive toward a decarbonized future outlined in Dare Forward 2030.”
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Samsung will use its technological prowess to produce EV battery cells and modules for the North American market. The company had launched its premium battery brand (PRiMX) at CES 2022 in January, according to the release.
Stellantis also said that this investment is part of the company’s long-term electrification strategy, a strategy which sees the company invest $35 billion in electrification and software, globally, through 2025.
Stellantis was formed after the merger of Peugeot S.A. Groupe (PSA) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in Jan. 2021. Its brands include Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Ram.
Following the plant announcement, Tavares said he expected shortages of the batteries and raw materials needed to make EVs in the coming years, according to CNBC.
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“The speed at which we are trying to move all together for the right reason, which is fixing the global warming issue, is so high that the supply chain and the production capacities have no time to adjust,” Tavares said at a media event, according to CNBC.
