Stellantis' CEO admitted the company will need at least one, but perhaps two more large EV battery factories in the US to hit its production goals. The company has many brands and many future EVs under its umbrella, but securing battery production in the US is paramount right now.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares made it public on Tuesday that the automaker will need plenty of batteries going forward. This should come as no surprise as we've been talking about the need for EV batteries and battery factories, as well as more mining and refining efforts for years now. It's not rocket science. As more and more of the global automotive industry make the transition from gas cars to EVs, everyone needs more battery cells.
The reason many automakers are pushing to source and/or produce electric car batteries on our shores is the new US federal EV tax credit. It puts weight not only on where the EV is produced, but also on where the battery materials are sourced from and where the battery is manufactured.
Stellantis aims to bring its RAM REV fully electric pickup truck to market on our shores and has already promised that at least one version of the truck will have over 500 miles of range. This means a huge battery pack. Plus, pickup trucks tend to sell in large numbers on our shores. To pull it off, Stellantis will need its ducks in a row far ahead of moving forward.
Tavares shared his words with journalists as the company opened a "gigafactory" in France. He said Stellantis will need similar factories in North America. The company has already made public plans for two such facilities. One plant will be located in the US, in Indiana. The other will be situated in Canada. These will combine their efforts with three additional facilities in Europe to crank out a yearly battery capacity of 120 GWh.
In the end, Stellantis hopes to be producing 400 GWh of batteries annually, with a goal of making that happen by 2030.
