Stellantis to invest $2.5 billion in electric vehicle battery plant in Kokomo

KOKOMO — Stellantis is investing $2.5 billion in an electric vehicle battery facility in Kokomo.

Stellantis, formed last year with the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Peugeot, and Samsung SDI, are partnering for the joint venture.

The plant in Kokomo will create about 1,400 jobs.

WRTV Photo

Construction on the plant is scheduled to begin in 2022 and operations are planned to launch in the first quarter of 2025.

Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore says the announcement puts Kokomo and Indiana at the forefront of technology and automotive manufacturing.

"[I'm] beyond ecstatic. This is such an incredible opportunity not only for the state of Indiana but specifically Kokomo and our local workforce," Moore said.

The joint venture will gradually invest more than $2.5 billion to build the facility near the existing facility in Kokomo, but the investment could gradually increase to $3.1 billion.

The plant will is expected to initially achieve a production capacity of 23 gigawatt hours with an increase to 33 GWh in the years later.

In March it announced plans to spend $4.1 billion in a joint venture with LG Energy Solution of South Korea to build one of them in Windsor, Ontario. That plant will employ about 2,500 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.