Multinational automotive group Stellantis has announced a joint venture with Samsung SDI to build an electric vehicle battery plant in the United States. The facility, which will be established in Indiana, is targeting a 2025 production start with an initial annual output of 23 gigawatt-hours (GWh). With demand for Stellantis-branded EVs expected to rise in the coming years, the facility will see an increase in the production of lithium-ion batteries.

Construction is set to commence later this year and will see the creation of about 1,400 new jobs in the Kokomo region, along with $2.5 billion in investments from the joint venture. Battery modules produced at the new facility will be used in vehicles produced in North American Stellantis plants. Under the Dare Forward 2030 plan, the group is aiming for five million annual global sales of battery-powered vehicles.

"Just under one year ago, we committed to an aggressive electrification strategy anchored by five gigafactories between Europe and North America ... today's announcement further solidifies our global battery production footprint and demonstrates Stellantis' drive toward a decarbonized future as outlined in Dare Forward 2030," said CEO Carlos Tavares.

The company is investing heavily in battery plants. Plans are afoot for another lithium-ion battery facility in Canada and, like the aforementioned facility, the Ontario-based factory will produce packs destined for North American market cars. Production is expected to kick off in 2024, a year before the American factory.

Currently, models such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe show the direction in which Stellantis is heading. Despite the sizeable exterior and impressive performance, the 5,325-lbs SUV can achieve 23 mpg on the combined cycle. For the American market, at least, this is only the beginning - we've already seen what a fully-electric Jeep could look like.

The Stellantis umbrella stretches over several brands, including a bevy of European marques. Vauxhall has already stated intentions to switch over to electric-only by 2028 and, recently, we learned that troubled Italian carmaker Lancia also has plans in the pipeline for future electric models. These plans line up with Stellantis' intentions to reach 100% of passenger car BEV sales in Europe in the coming years.

Here in the USA, things haven't developed as quickly as they have abroad. But that's set to change very soon, with the advent of the Ram 1500 EV. So far, several teasers have been shared but, in April, the company announced the electric pickup truck will break cover later this year.

Ram will also introduce a battery-powered ProMaster shortly, which will take the fight to the E-Transit. Even the Dodge brand name will see significant changes, with the venerable Challenger and Charger expected to eventually adopt battery power.