General Motors and Ford have been in the news a lot lately regarding their future electric vehicle plans. But what about Detroit's third major automaker, Stellantis? The newly minted company, a product of the merger between FCA and PSA Groupe, is getting into high gear for its own electrified future.
It has just been announced it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with LG Energy Solution to create a joint venture to produce battery cells and modules for North America in America. Instead of importing those critical EV components, a new battery plant will be built in Michigan with an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatts hours. The goal is to break ground in the second business quarter of 2022. Battery production will begin in early 2024 - the same year Dodge will launch its all-electric muscle car.
Whether it'll be called Challenger, Charger, or something else remains unknown. Aside from this vehicle, the plant will produce batteries for Stellantis factories located throughout the continent for EVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles. "Today's announcement is further proof that we are deploying our aggressive electrification road map and are following through on the commitments we made during our EV Day event in July," said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
The new factory's exact location is still under review but it'll definitely be built in the Wolverine State. Stellantis will invest $35.5 billion in electrification through 2025 and by 2029 will offer an all-electric option for each of its models in the US.
The hope is for at least 40 percent of its overall sales by 2030 to be comprised of electrified vehicles, including both EVs and PHEVs. Having a local battery supplier is a core requirement for automakers in order to avoid major disruptions, such as the currently ongoing semiconductor chip crisis. Without batteries, EV and PHEVs cannot be built. It's that basic.
Both Jeep and Ram will be launching all-electric models in the very near future, specifically battery-powered versions of the Wrangler and Ram 1500. Both are due to debut before the new battery plant is up and running, but eventually, their batteries will also be manufactured locally.