South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution Ltd (LGES) plans to re-evaluate its investment plan for a standalone battery plant in Arizona due to the current economic environment in the US, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The spokesperson’s comments on the previously announced $1.3 billion investment came after LGES said in a statement, “Given the unprecedented economic and investment conditions in the US, LG Energy Solution is currently reviewing several investment options.
The company, South Korea’s largest player in the fast-growing electric vehicle and battery market, said no decisions were made in its statement, which did not mention Arizona’s plan.
LGES shares fell 2.6% in early trading, while the benchmark KOSPI index fell.
The statement comes just three months after LGES, which includes Tesla Inc, General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG, announced plans to build a battery factory in Arizona by 2024 to meet demand from startups and other North American customers.
LGES said in March that the plant would be the first U.S. plant to make cylindrical cells, a type of battery used in Tesla and Lucid vehicles. Construction was set to begin in the second quarter of 2022, with mass production to begin in 2024. In the United States, LGES is building three plants with GM in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan and plans to expand its existing plant in Michigan.
LGES has production facilities in the United States, South Korea, China, Poland, Canada and Indonesia.
