Samsung SDI And Stellantis Join Forces To Open All-New EV Plant
Photo credit: Stellantis
Stellantis has paired with Samsung SDI after investing upwards of $3 billion towards a state-of-the-art battery plant in Kokomo, Indonesia which has long built transmissions and engines used in Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler vehicles.Mark Stewart, Stellantis’ chief operating officer, says the joint venture will create 1,400 jobs around Kokomo where Stellantis, the company created by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group, now operates four separate engine and transmission plants employing more than 6,000 hourly and salaried workers. A UAW study notes jobs in engine and transmission plants are at risk as the industry moves toward electrified vehicles. For now, however, the union is banking on battery-production jobs going to UAW members.
Cindy Estrada, director of the UAW’s Stellantis Dept., says: “We are excited about today’s announcement and the company’s decision to locate this new battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana. We look forward to negotiating an agreement with Stellantis that brings this new plant under our master agreement with traditional wages and benefits.” The Kokomo plant expects to have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt-hours, with plans to increase to 33 GWh in the next few years. Total capacity would increase further as demand for Stellantis electric vehicles rises.
Yoonho Choi, chief executive officer of Samsung SDI, says Stellantis and officials from the City of Kokomo and State of Indiana helped clear the way for the new investment for the company’s first battery plant in the U.S. “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,” Choi says. Stellantis continues to push forward in leading the path to a future of electric vehicles. Interested in finding out more?
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