GM bets on LG and America's largest cathode factory to score EV battery subsidies in a $19 billion deal

General Motors' CEO travelled to Korea to expand the electric vehicle partnerships with LG and Samsung, and has inked a $19 billion deal with LG for critical battery raw materials like nickel. Under the terms of the deal, LG will provide battery materials enough for 5 million GM electric cars to "America's biggest cathode factory" in Tennessee.

Volume production in the LG Chem plant there will start in 2026 and the new deal now covers the whole General Motors EV battery supply chain, from the raw materials to the finished battery packs, perhaps in order to fulfil the US government subsidy requirements.

Besides LG, GM's CEO Mary Barra also visited Samsung's headquarters, as it also has a deal with the SDI division for a 30 GWh battery plant in Indiana that would start churning out packs in 2026 as well. In other words, GM is betting big on the two Korean juggernauts for its EV battery supply.

Batteries are not the only components that Samsung and LG can provide for GM's budding electric vehicle business, too. LG is at the forefront of automotive OLED displays now, like the pillar-to-pillar Hyperscreen of Mercedes, and Samsung has identified the area as a motor for future growth area as well.

Mary Barra reportedly used the meeting with Samsung execs to talk about batteries and car displays, but also about cameras, as Samsung is turning into a major supplier of sensors for autonomous driving kits like the Hardware 4.0 set on newer Tesla vehicles that aids in FSD duties. The General Motors CEO also got a demonstration from Harman, Samsung's audio and automotive technology subsidiary, indicating another area of possible partnership.

In any case, sourcing battery and other EV components or raw materials from Korea instead of China for assembly in the US would likely allow GM to qualify for the full federal subsidy amount available to its future electric vehicles. Tesla, for instance, now directly advertises its bestselling Model with a starting price of $36,490 after the government's tax credit.

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