General Motors, Samsung to build $3 billion EV battery plant in US

US automaker General Motors and South Korea's smartphone brand Samsung SDI have announced to invest $3 billion or more to build a joint venture electric vehicle (EV) plant in the United States.

While the location of the battery plant is yet not declared, it is likely to start in 2026. Through the plan, the companies aim to have an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt hours (GWh). The plant is expected to make nickel-rich prismatic and cylindrical cells.

The project is GM's fourth joint venture battery cell factory. It has announced three others with South Korea's LG Energy Solution. The new factory will have more than 30 gigawatt hours of capacity and will increase GM’s total U.S. battery cell capacity to about 160 gigawatt hours when it is at full production, the companies said.

General Motors has pledged to sell only electric vehicles by 2030.

Earlier this month, General Motors has announced that it will remove Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support in its EVs in the future. According to a report by Motor 1, the company has announced the same via a press release. The report says that the changes won’t be overnight, but will take place eventually.

The automaker, however, will retain the support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in combustion-powered vehicles as well as currently available EVs. As per the report, the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV will retain the features, but the upcoming GM Blazer EV will dump the support. The change will likewise be introduced for the Chevrolet Equinox EV, GMC Sierra EV, and Cadillac Celestiq.

(With inputs from agencies)