What's going on?

Stellantis announced this week that it�s planning to team up with Samsung to build a new EV battery plant.

What does this mean?

You probably know Stellantis, if not necessarily by name: the carmaker is the result of last year�s merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot. And as if committed to this aura of anonymity, it�s been slow to make itself relevant, selling just 400,000 electric vehicles last year. So now it wants to thrust itself into the spotlight: Stellantis has said it�s aiming to sell 5 million EVs a year by 2030, and for EVs to make up all of its European sales and half its North American sales by then too.

But to do that, it�s going to need enough batteries to power them. Cue a deal with LG Energy Solution in March, which involved building a $4.1 billion battery plant in Canada, And cue this deal with Samsung, which involves building a $2.5 billion battery plant in the US by 2025.

Why should I care?

The bigger picture: Don�t rely on China.
Stellantis knows the wind is blowing in one direction: analysts estimate that EVs made up more than 10% of all new vehicle sales last quarter, and they think that figure�s only going to keep rising. But there�s also speculation that the sudden uptick in demand will make carmakers even more dependent on China, which is the world�s biggest processor of � well, almost every material needed for battery production. That might be why battery powerhouses CATL and LG Energy Solution have collectively pledged $16 billion to build out the EV battery supply chain.

Zooming out: Even a conglomerate has hobbies.
EV batteries are small potatoes to Samsung: the conglomerate � whose businesses span everything from electronics to drugs � revealed plans this week to boost spending by over 30% to $360 billion over the next five years. It�ll use that massive investment to create next-gen microchips, develop more biotech products, and more.