Almost every week, another major automaker announces a billion-dollar-plus investment in battery manufacturing, and with it, thousands of new American jobs.
Why it matters: Eyeing President Biden’s climate agenda, carmakers are racing to create a domestic battery supply chain to support their aggressive rollout of electric vehicles by the end of the decade.
- They want to avoid another crisis like the current semiconductor shortage, which forced them to slash vehicle production because they can’t get enough computer chips from Asia.
Driving the news: This week, Toyota and Stellantis (Chrysler and Jeep’s parent) joined the chorus of automakers planning to build giant battery factories in North America.
- The moves follow other U.S. battery manufacturing commitments, by Ford and General Motors, as well as Korean battery suppliers SK Innovation and LG Chem.
- For now, these moves are ahead of demand. But forecasters predict the EV shift will occur quickly as more plug-in models are introduced and governments increase requirements for zero-emissions vehicles to fight climate change.
- When those pieces fall into place, the world’s carmakers are likely to be in an all-out war to secure battery metals and other materials needed to produce them.