A New Electric Vehicle Battery Plant is Headed to Kokomo, Indiana

Stellantis and Samsung are teaming up to build an EV battery plant in Indiana. Will the extra gigawatt-hours be enough for Chrysler’s parent company to catch up to the competition?
Written by Andrew Koole
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Stellantis, parent company to Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, announced on May 24 that it’s partnering with Samsung to build an EV battery plant in Kokomo, Indiana. The project marks the first fruits of the partnership between the two companies, which was announced last October.
Indiana isn’t exactly known as an automotive production hub, but it’s not new territory for Stellantis. The Amsterdam-based company already produces components for Chrysler and other sub-brands in Kokomo.
The battery plant is expected to employ 2,500 people and produce up to 40 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power for
electric vehicles
when fully operational.
Jerry
, your car ownership
super app
, took a closer look at the project to understand how it will affect EV ownership in the U.S.

Stellantis’ battery production plans are wide in scope

The joint venture between
Stellantis
and Samsung is only half of the auto conglomerate’s EV battery-building plans. The company is also building cells and modules in Windsor, Ontario with South Korea’s other tech giant, LG. That factory was announced in March.
Both plants will produce the batteries needed for the electric Chryslers, Jeeps, Dodges, and Rams built in North America. 
The
Detroit Free Press
reports that production at the Kokomo facility is expected to start in 2025. In all, the build will cost Stellantis between $2.5 billion and $3.1 billion.
Different states vyed for the U.S. plant’s location, but in the end the company went with the familiarity of Kokomo, in part because of the $186.5 million in
incentives offered by the state
.
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Two new battery plants aren’t enough to etch Stellantis ahead in EV race

Together, Stellantis’ two battery plants will be able to produce up to 85 GWh of power a year. That’s a healthy start for the automaker, but not near enough to catch up to competitors like
Ford and GM
, both of which plan to produce well over 100 GWh a year by 2025. 
All three legacy American brand owners are dwarfed by battery production plans set by Volkswagen and Tesla. 
The six plants the German auto giant has in the works in Europe will produce up to 240 GWh a year, and
The Verge
says Tesla’s Gigafactory in Berlin is set to produce 250 GWh annually on its own, never mind the capacity of its facilities in Nevada and Texas.
Stellantis has fallen behind on introducing EV models as well. The company has yet to bring an electric vehicle to the U.S. market. 
And while an electric muscle car from Dodge, a pickup from Ram, a sedan from Chrysler, and two Jeeps are on their way, none are expected until at least next year.

The costs of switching to an EV

MORE: Stellantis Had Brands Come in Both First and Last in a Quality Study
You might not want to wait for Stellantis before switching to an electric car, but before you make any decision, you should make sure you’re looking at the whole picture of
EV ownership
. The price tags of the vehicles are just the beginning.
The cost to fill up a gas tank right now likely makes driving an electric vehicle more appealing, but cost of a charger and
car insurance
pretty much evens out the ownership expenses of both types of cars.
That said, you can save on car insurance by shopping with Jerry. A licensed broker that offers end-to-end support, the Jerry app gathers affordable quotes, helps you switch plans, and can even help you cancel your old policy. The average Jerry user saves over $800 a year on car insurance.
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