Samsung SDI, Samsung's battery manufacturing arm, has signed an agreement with General Motors (GM) to jointly build electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the US. This is the company's second such deal in the US. Three years ago, the South Korean firm made a similar deal with carmaker Stellantis.
Samsung SDI and GM to jointly make EV batteries in the US
Samsung formally announced earlier today that it has signed a deal with global automaker General Motors to jointly manufacture EV batteries in the USA. The companies will start manufacturing EV batteries at a plant in Indiana, USA. Combined, both firms will invest around $3.5 billion to build the plant. It will have an annual production capacity of 36GWh, and production will start sometime in 2027.
The CEOs of both firms met seven months ago to talk about EV batteries and other car parts. GM CEO Mary Barra met with top executives from Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung SDI in February 2024 during her visit to South Korea.
General Motors owns (or has stakes in) several automobile brands, including Baojun, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Opel, and Vauxhall. In terms of sales, GM was the world's largest automaker for 77 years before losing its top spot to Toyota in 2008. Currently, it is the sixth biggest carmaker in the world, with sales of over 5.84 million units.
Choi Yoon-ho, Samsung SDI CEO, said, “We have decided to establish a premium battery production base to spearhead the U.S. EV market based on our strong partnership with GM, the No. 1 automaker in North America.”
GM might also source camera sensors from Samsung LSI and display panels for infotainment systems and Multi-Information Displays (MIDs) from Samsung Display.
Samsung SDI is reportedly also planning to build its own battery plant in the US. The company plans to start making solid-state EV batteries by 2027, which will be a significant step up in terms of capacity and durability.
