General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Samsung SDI (KOSPI:006400) will announce plans to build a new joint venture battery manufacturing plant in the US as early as Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing sources.
The planned announcement comes after Reuters reported in January that GM and LG Energy Solutions (KOSPI:373220) would not be pursuing a fourth US battery manufacturing plant. GM and LG Energy Solutions are building a $2.6 billion plant in Michigan, due to open in 2024.
The new GM Samsung SDI plant is expected to cost more than the Michigan battery plant, but a location won’t be announced immediately, sources said. GM and Samsung SDI did not comment on this.
However, a source added that the two companies are considering opening several battery joint ventures in North America.
In August, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solutions announced that it was considering a site for a fourth battery plant in New Carlisle, Indiana, USA. In January, Reuters reported that GM and a new partner could still select an Indiana site for a battery plant.
GM said last year that it plans to produce 400,000 EVs in North America between 2022 and mid-2024, and increase capacity to 1 million units per year in North America by 2025. Sources say GM is considering whether it will eventually need at least two additional EV factories to meet future EV demand.
Korean media reported the announcement of a potential GM Samsung SDI in early March.
In May 2022, Stellantis NV and Samsung SDI announced that they would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a new joint venture battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana. Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions said they would invest $4.1 billion in a joint venture battery plant in Canada in 2022.
Meanwhile, this week, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol is visiting the United States for a summit with US President Joe Biden. In 2022, US President Joe Biden visited Korea and actively encouraged Korean companies to invest in the US.