Stellantis and Samsung SDI Choose Indiana for the Location of Second U.S. BEV Battery Plant
Automotive group Stellantis is getting serious about its plans for the Dare Forward 2030 business strategy. Aiming to release more than 75 BEVs into its lineup over the course of the rest of the decade, the auto group is shaking hands and joining up with third parties to make this possible. In the span of two years, Stellantis and Samsung SDI agreed to build two new battery-electric vehicle (BEV) facilities in the U.S. to produce BEV batteries. The first of these new BEV battery facility was announced in May 2022, set for construction in Kokomo, Indiana. Details about the location for the second facility were still amidst, but now, we know that Stellantis and Samsung SDI have chosen Indiana for a double-whammy, placing a second joint BEV battery plant in Kokomo.
“Our battery ecosystem is the foundation of our electrification strategy and our great partners Samsung SDI, the State of Indiana, and the City of Kokomo have created a compelling case for locating our sixth gigafactory in Kokomo…The BEVs coming to our North America brands play an important role in our drive to offer clean, safe and affordable mobility for all and achieve the bold goal of carbon net zero by 2038.” – Stellantis North America COO Mark Stewart
Even though 75 new BEVs are planned, they won’t all get a global release. Stellantis suspects that only 25 of those all-new BEVs will hit the U.S. market. Even so, the auto group is putting all of its chips on these new BEV models, expecting a change in sales. By 2030, 100-percent of sales are expected to come from passenger-car BEVs in the European market, going down to about 50-percent of passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales in the United States. Let’s face it – America is holding onto its gasoline cars as long as it can, but overseas, that’s not the case. Unless you consider India; they love their petrol.
A lot of money is being invested into these two BEV battery plants. The first plant benefited from an investment of more than $2.5 billion, expected to gradually increase up to $3.1 billion. This new StarPlus Energy JV plant is starting off with an investment of $3.2 billion, set to be built next to the first battery plant already under construction. This will do well for the economy, with an estimate of 1,400 jobs opening at the second site, slated for production in 2027. The goals for annual production capacity of power also bodes well with this second BEV battery plant.
The first plant has a target initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh), with plans to increase to 33 GWh once Stellantis and Samsung learn how to best optimize production and cost. Combined with the second BEV battery plant, the new combined annual production capacity is expected to be a total of 67 GWh. That may not sound like much, but a single BEV has an average battery capacity of 40 kWh. If a single gigawatt hour is equal to 1 million kilowatt hours, that’s a lot of BEVs that will benefit from these BEV battery plants – about 1,675,000 units a year.
We weren’t kidding when we said Stellantis is getting serious. You can learn more about what’s in store for the lineup and keep up to date with Stellantis when you follow us on Aventura Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram social media.