JV between Stellantis and Samsung

In its official press release, Stellantis N.V. agreed with Samsung SDI to create Joint Venture (JV). The JV will produce battery cells and modules for countries, which are the US, Canada and Mexico. The future company tries to start its production from 2025, and have an initial annual production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours. In addition, they want to increase the ability up to 40 gigawatt hours in the future. Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis mentioned in the following.

“We will be well positioned to compete and ultimately win in the North American electric vehicle market. Our strategy to work with highly recognized partners boosts the speed and agility needed to design and build safe, affordable and sustainable vehicles. I am thankful to all the teams working on this critical investment in our collective future.”

Electrification Strategy

Stellantis intends to become the market leader in low emission vehicles (LEV). It wants over 70% of sales in Europe and over 40% in the US to be LEV by 2030. Furthermore, all 14 of the Group’s brands will be able to offer best-in-class fully electrified solutions. In order to realize these ambitious goals, Stellantis made a decision to invest in €30 billion by 2025. Carlos Tavares, Group CEO, referred to its electrification strategy as follows.

“The customer is always at the heart of Stellantis. What’s more, our commitment with this plus investment plan is to offer iconic vehicles. They will have the performance, capability, style, comfort and electric range that fit seamlessly into customers’ daily lives. The strategy focuses the right amount of investment on the right technology to reach the market at the right time. We convince that Stellantis powers the freedom of movement in the most efficient, affordable and sustainable way.” –

Competition in the US

It seems that the competition in the US electric vehicle (EV) market is soaring up. For example, other American automotive manufacturers are also collaborating with the South Korean companies. Ford and SK innovation create Joint Venture to produce batteries in the US. In addition, Ford’s long rival, General Motors are working with LG Energy Solution.

Of course, China is the biggest EV market in the world and Europe is behind it. However, the US is the second biggest automotive market all over the world. Furthermore, Biden administration is trying to make its home automotive market greener. In fact, the government decided to return the US to Paris climate accord in 2021. In this sense, the US will be more important EV market. Thus, it seems natural that the companies that have their roots in the country such as Ford and Stellantis try to gain its market share.

Samsung is already operating its battery factories in South Korea, China and Hungary. However, it enters the US for the first time in terms of battery production. When it comes to the battery market’s share, LG and CATL, a Chinese battery giant, have almost half of it. Therefore, Samsung thinks that it is the critical moment to gain market share now. That is why the South Korean conglomerate is working Stellantis to enter the US battery market.