Samsung SDI has acquired General Motors' 49.99% stake in their joint venture SynergyCells, taking sole ownership of the battery plant under construction in New Carlisle, Indiana. The companies are unwinding the JV structure, citing slower-than-expected EV demand growth. The facility will initially focus on producing batteries for energy storage systems when it comes online, with Samsung SDI pointing to growing US ESS market demand. The companies have signed a joint development agreement for next-generation prismatic battery cells, which may eventually be manufactured at the Indiana site. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Samsung SDI stated the move reflects recent market changes whilst maintaining its strategic partnership with GM, allowing the company to respond to the fast-growing US ESS market.

South Korea's Samsung SDI to buy out GM's stake in battery joint venture. 11 Aug 2026 12:30PM (Updated: 11 Aug 2026 01:28PM) Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Aug 11: South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI said on Tuesday it will end its joint venture agreement with General Motors in Indiana and acquire the U.S. firm's 49.99 per cent stake, citing weaker-than-expected electric vehicle demand. Here are some details: - Samsung SDI said in a regulatory filing that it plans to use the wholly owned unit - SDI-GM Synergy Cells Holdings - to respond to market demand for batteries across various applications, including energy storage systems (ESS) and EVs. - The company said its existing investment plan would change following the shift to a wholly owned unit, but specific investment plans had not yet been finalised. The company said it would make further disclosures in accordance with regulatory requirements. - "The ownership change was made in consideration of market changes since the joint venture was announced - including the slower-than-expected growth of EV demand. The two partners have now decided to seek other forms of cooperation other than the joint venture," Samsung SDI said in a statement. - Separately, Samsung SDI said it has signed an agreement with GM to jointly develop next-generation prismatic batteries for potential future EV applications. - Reuters had reported earlier this year that construction at the plant had slowed amid weak demand for EVs. - GM and other automakers pulled back on EV manufacturing following the loss of a $7,500 federal tax credit last September. While automakers continue to build and sell EVs, they have lowered factory output to match demand. - The joint venture was announced two years ago and was initially expected to have an annual production capacity of 27 gigawatt hours, with an aim to start mass production in 2027. - In March, GM and LG Energy Solution also announced a decision to transform another EV battery plant in Tennessee to make batteries for ESS.

GM said to plan sale of Indiana battery venture to Samsung SDI - Bloomberg. 11 Aug 2026, 11:57 am (Aug 11): General Motors Co is poised to sell its half of a planned US$3.5 billion electric-vehicle battery joint venture in Indiana to partner Samsung SDI, according to people familiar with the matter. Samsung SDI is set to buy the 680-acre property, take over the joint venture and own the battery-making facility in New Carlisle, Indiana, that GM had hoped would be needed to build enough power storage for an era of growing EV demand. It isn't clear what Samsung SDI will do with the facility, said the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss an announcement expected Tuesday in Seoul. Samsung SDI didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. GM's move away from battery production is the latest in a long pullback by the automaker, which had hoped to be selling one million EVs a year in the US by now. Despite a huge push by GM and other companies, EV demand has fallen short of expectations as American consumers demurred on plug-ins and the Trump administration removed federal sales incentives that could have helped demand. As a result, GM has taken US$11 billion in writedowns for its EV programmes, sold back its share of one planned battery plant to another South Korean partner, LG Energy Solution, and converted an assembly plant in suburban Detroit to make large trucks and SUVs that burn gasoline. The Ultium Cells LLC venture jointly owned by GM and LG Energy Solution in Tennessee has also started making cells for stationary energy storage. The Indiana plant was announced just two years ago as an investment between GM and Samsung SDI that would eventually employ 1,600 people and targeted mass production in 2027. But the two companies delayed the project as EV sales stalled. GM has spent US$300 million so far developing the site, which has a completed building but hasn't yet added any production equipment. Detroit-based GM has bet US$35 billion on self-driving cars and EVs under chief executive officer Mary Barra. Barra has said GM remains committed to developing EVs, but has to build what the market wants. Lately, EVs have accounted for only about 5% of sales, while gasoline-electric hybrids have sold more strongly in the US. Uploaded by Liza Shireen Koshy