By Michael Elkin

Stellantis NV, parent of Chrysler (NYSE:), and Samsung SDI(KS:) today announced that they had entered into agreements for the establishment an electric-vehicle batteries manufacturing plant. This facility will be located in Kokomo. Construction is set for later in the year and production will begin in 2025.

This joint venture company will invest $2.5 Billion and create 1400 new jobs in Kokomo. This investment may increase to up to $3.1 million over time.

“Just under one year ago, we committed to an aggressive electrification strategy anchored by five gigafactories between Europe and North America,” said Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis. “Today’s announcement further solidifies our global battery production footprint and demonstrates Stellantis’ drive toward a decarbonized future outlined in Dare Forward 2030. I am grateful to Governor Holcomb and Secretary Chambers along with Mayor Moore, and their teams as well as to all my colleagues for their support and dedication to bring this operation to Kokomo, a city that holds a rich and long history for our company.”

“We express our gratitude towards officials from the State of Indiana and Stellantis for supporting the final selection of the plant site in Indiana,” said YOONHO CHOI, chief executive officer of Samsung SDI. “We have secured a solid foothold in a rapidly growing North American EV market through the joint venture with Stellantis. We will make sincere efforts to bring satisfaction to the market with top-class quality products in the future, and we will contribute towards meeting the climate change target.”

The new facility will supply battery modules for a range of vehicles produced at Stellantis’ North American assembly plants. With a production capacity of 23 gigawatts (GWh) in its initial year, the plant will eventually increase that number to 33 GWh over time. This would allow for further growth in total production capacity as Stellantis’ demand for electric vehicles will rise.