In a bid to establish an electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, Stellantis and Samsung SDI announced that both companies have executed binding, definitive agreements. Accordingly, the plant to start in 2025 aims for an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), further increasing to 33 GWh in the next few years. The total capacity would increase further as demand for Stellantis electric vehicles is expected to rise, a company release from the vehicle maker said.
The joint venture company will invest more than $2.5 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 battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis' North America assembly plants. Plant construction activities are scheduled to begin later this year, with production operations planned to launch in the first quarter of 2025.
Carlos Tavares, CEO, Stellantis, 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 as outlined in Dare Forward 2030.'
Yoon-Ho Choi, CEO, Samsung SDI, said, 'We have secured a solid foothold in a rapidly growing North America 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 toward meeting the climate change target.'
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, supported by five battery manufacturing plants and additional supply contracts. This announcement is part of the long-term electrification strategy to invest $35 billion USD (€30 billion) through 2025 in electrification and software globally.