By Michael Elkin
Chrysler parent Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA) and Samsung SDI (KS:006400) announced today that they have entered into agreements to establish an electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility. The facility is to be built in Kokomo, Indiana. The plant's construction is scheduled to begin later this year with production operations scheduled to start in 2025.
The joint venture company will invest over $2.5 billion and create 1,400 new jobs in Kokomo and the surrounding areas. The investment could gradually increase up to $3.1 billion.
“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 YOONHO 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.”
The new facility will supply battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North American assembly plants. The plant 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.