Jeep maker Stellantis to build $2.5 billion EV battery plant in Indiana

Automaker Stellantis plans to invest more than $2.5 billion in partnership with Samsung SDI to build the automaker’s first U.S. electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility

The companies on Tuesday announced the new plant will be located in Kokomo, Indiana, where Stellantis already has a supplier base. It’s also centrally located to several of its vehicle assembly plants in the Midwest.

Stellantis said the new facility will supply lithium-ion battery modules for a range of vehicles. Plant construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with production projected to launch in the first quarter of 2025. The plant is expected to create 1,400 new jobs.

The new facility is part of Stellantis’ goal to achieve annual sales of 5 million battery-electric vehicles by 2030, bolstered by a plan to invest $35 billion in electrification and supporting technologies by 2025.

The facility, which will be operated through a joint venture, adds to a wave of tens of billions of dollars announced by automakers in recent years for U.S. production of electric vehicles and batteries to power them.

Hyundai Motor on Friday confirmed plans to spend $5.54 billion to build its first dedicated electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facilities in Georgia. Others, such as General Motors, Ford Motor and Volkswagen, have announced similar U.S. investments.

The recent commitments are notable wins for the Biden administration, which has been urging companies to establish electric vehicle supply chains and production in the U.S. rather than overseas. President Joe Biden last year set a target for EVs to represent half of all new auto sales in the country by 2030.

Stellantis previously announced plans for five battery plants, or gigafactories, in Europe and North America. In March, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution said they would invest $4.1 billion for a joint venture plant in Canada that is expected to come online in 2024.

Stellantis – the world’s fourth-largest carmaker – was formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA in January 2021. It has 14 individual auto brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot.