Stellantis and BMW in talks with Panasonic over new EV battery plants

Stellantis and BMW are in talks with Panasonic Holdings about teaming up to build electric vehicle battery plants in North America, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the talks.

Global automakers are investing billions of dollars to set up battery plants for electric vehicles, as demand surges for less polluting transport amid a push by governments to make them more affordable.

Stellantis, the world’s third-largest automotive group by sales, has already announced two EV battery plants in North America — one with LG Energy Solution Ltd. in Canada and another in Indiana with Samsung.

Stellantis is in discussions with Panasonic over a possible third factory, according to the WSJ report.

The automaker declined to comment on the report. BMW was not immediately available for a comment.

“We are examining various growth strategies for our automotive battery business, but there is no further information that we can share at the moment aside from what we have already announced,” a Panasonic spokesperson said in an emailed response.