Sources said that Stellantis would build a new battery plant in Indiana as the automaker increases its electric vehicle production.
European automaker and Chrysler parent company Stellantis has scheduled an announcement on Tuesday in Kokomo, Indiana, as what seems to be the company’s second electric vehicle battery factory in North America.
According to a report from Reuters, citing anonymous sources that are familiar with the matter, Stellantis and Samsung SDI will build a new battery plant, as the automaker ramp up its electric vehicle production.
Last year, the two companies announced that they would form a Joint Venture (JV) for Lithium-ion battery production in North America. The plant is targeted to start in 2025 and will have an annual capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours with an ability to increase up to 40 gigawatt-hours.
The JV plant is expected to be built near the company’s engine, casting, and transmission plants in Kokomo, Indiana, according to sources who declined to be identified because the announcement has not yet been made public.
Stellantis announced last October that it would invest $229 million to produce electrified eight-speed transmissions at its three Kokomo plants.
The company will update the future of its Kokomo operations on Tuesday afternoon at an Indiana community college, including its North American chief operating officer Mark Stewart and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.
Stellantis, which was formed last year through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot, has announced that it will construct two electric vehicle battery factories in North America. In March, it announced a plan to invest $4.1 billion in a joint venture with LG Energy Solution of Korea to construct one of the plants in Windsor, Ontario.
The automaker has announced plans to sell 5 million electric vehicles by 2030, with 50 percent of its passenger car and light truck sales in North America becoming fully electric by 2030. By 2030, Stellantis intends to sell only electric passenger vehicles in Europe.
