Stellantis, LG Energy team up

PARIS: US-European automaker Stellantis and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution said on Monday they would team up to build lithium-ion car batteries in North America.

The two companies aim to have a factory up and running in the beginning of 2024 that will have an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours, or enough to create battery packs for over 650,000 vehicles.

“The factory will help power Stellantis’ goal of realising more than 40% of its sales in the US comprised of electrified vehicles by 2030,” the companies said in a statement.

Stellantis, which includes the US brands Jeep, Chrysler and Ram, also includes the European carmakers Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, Opel and Alfa Romeo, among others.

Some 2.2 million Stellantis brand cars were sold in North America in 2019.

Like many of its peers, Stellantis has set itself targets to shift towards batteryelectric vehicles as tightening pollution regulations mean internal combustion engines will need to be phased out.

The announcement is a key step in defining how Stellantis plans to realise that goal, with securing a sufficient volume batteries a key concern for automakers, as is the choice of a partner.

LG Energy Solution is one of the top makers of lithium-ion battery packs for carmakers.

“Today’s announcement is further proof that we are deploying our aggressive electrification road map and are following through on the commitments we made” earlier this year, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said.

A site has yet to be chosen for the facility, but the companies hope to begin construction before July next year.

The batteries will be used in Stellantis car factories in the United States, Canada and Mexico.