General Motors’ fourth electric vehicle battery plant — its first with joint venture partner Samsung SDI — will start production in 2027, a year later than initially expected.
The automaker and Samsung SDI said they finalized their partnership on Aug. 27 in Seoul. The companies plan to invest $3.5 billion to build a battery cell factory in New Carlisle, Indiana, with an initial capacity of 27 gigawatt-hours per year. When the location was confirmed in June 2023, the plant was projected to open in 2026 with a capacity of more than 30 GWh.
Samsung and GM say the plant, which is expected to create more than 1,600 jobs in northern Indiana, will be able to produce up to 36 GWh of batteries annually.
The New Carlisle plant will produce prismatic cells with a lithium nickel cobalt aluminum chemistry that differ slightly from those made at the Ultium Cells plants, which are joint ventures between GM and LG Energy Solutions. Ultium plants in Ohio and Tennessee produce lithium nickel cobalt manganese pouch-style battery cells, as does a third plant under construction in Michigan.
“The electric vehicle market and GM’s sales will continue to grow as more customers experience our electric vehicles, charging infrastructure develops and we expand into more segments,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.
GM and Samsung SDI said they are investing in the partnership “to stay in step with the pace of the market.” EV sales, while growing, have slowed from earlier expectations as concerns persist about pricing and charging availability. GM delayed the start of electric pickup truck production at a second plant, Orion Assembly in Michigan, until mid-2026. It also cut its North American EV production forecast for this year by 50,000, now targeting 200,000 to 250,000.
Prismatic cells “will add to our battery technology portfolio, helping us continue to increase performance and reduce costs in the future,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice president of batteries, said in a LinkedIn post.
“The Samsung SDI joint venture paves the way for our next-generation electric vehicles to offer customers the latest battery technology, enhancing electric vehicle performance and ownership experience,” Kelty wrote.