This would be the fourth planned venture into electromobility by the American automaker and a step towards its goal of producing 1 million electric vehicles annually by 2025.
Detroit-based automaker General Motors and South Korean battery manufacturer Samsung SDI are set to announce plans for a new joint electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in the U.S., according to Reuters. GM follows other automakers in diversifying its battery supply chains and catching up to its competitors.
Sources close to the companies told Reuters the plans could be unveiled as soon as Tuesday. The announcement would coincide with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s April 24-29 visit to the U.S., marking the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. Yoon made business cooperation and trade opportunities the central aspects of the trip and is accompanied by multiple South Korean business leaders and executives.
GM began to increase its stake in electromobility in early 2022, announcing a $7 billion investment in the sector. With the investment, GM planned to produce 400,000 electric vehicles from 2022 through 2024 to eventually ramp up production to 1 million vehicles annually in North America from 2025. Currently, GM operates a battery manufacturing plant with fellow South Korean battery producer LG Energy Solution and two additional plants are scheduled to open in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Plans for a fourth joint project stalled and were ultimately scrapped earlier this year.
With Samsung SDI as a new partner and subsidies from the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, GM could now achieve its goal to increase production capacity for electric vehicles and battery cells despite parting ways with LG Energy Solution.
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