Stellantis Forms JV With LG Energy Solutions For Battery Production In North America

Stellantis, which is the parent of automakers like Peugeot, Fiat, Chrysler, Vauxhall,  Jeep, Dodge, and Maserati amongst others has formed a joint venture with LG Energy Solutions for the manufacturing of batteries in North America. The new manufacturing facilities that the two majors will create are aimed at powering more than 40 percent of sales that Stellantis will have in the US by 2030. The facility is supposedly going to become operational by the first quarter of 2024 and it has a target production capacity of 40-gigawatt hours. 

The batteries that will be manufactured in the new facility will be supplied to Stellantis manufacturing plants in the US, Canada, and Mexico. This will range from next-generation plugin hybrid vehicles to pure-play EVs that will be sold under the Stellantis family of brands. 

"Today's announcement is further proof that we are deploying our aggressive electrification road map and are following through on the commitments we made during our EV Day event in July," said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. 

"With this, we have now determined the next 'Giga factory coming to the Stellantis portfolio to help us achieve a total minimum of 260-gigawatt hours of capacity by 2030. I want to warmly thank each person involved in this strategic project. Together, we will lead the industry with benchmark efficiencies and deliver electrified vehicles that ignite passion," Tavares added. 

Stellantis has been lagging behind with electric cars so this partnership will help accelerate its shift towards EVs

"Establishing a joint venture with Stellantis will be a monumental milestone in our long-standing partnership," said Jong-hyun Kim, President, and CEO of LG Energy Solution. 

LG energy solution already is a major supplier for GM and Hyundai and also supplies to a lesser degree, Tesla. Recently, its batteries have been in the news for all the wrong reasons as GM and Hyundai had to recall vehicles due to battery fires. But LG's relationship with the erstwhile FCA which merged with the PSA group to form Stellantis last year has had a relationship with it since 2014 for the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan. 

Stellantis has already announced that it will be investing $34.8 billion through 2025, in a bid to transform the group so that it is well-positioned for the age of electric cars. This deal is part of this massive investment. The location of the new manufacturing facility hasn't been finalized but the groundbreaking is expected in 2022.