LG新能源拟重启美国Ultium Ohio电池工厂

LG Energy Solution is restarting a US electric-vehicle battery plant that had halted operations. The move comes as recent global EV sales have gradually recovered, lending weight to analysis that the "chasm," or temporary demand slowdown, is nearing its end. Expectations are growing in particular because LG Energy Solution is resuming plant operations in the United States, where the shock to the EV market was severe.
According to industry sources on the 21st, LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) is preparing to restart Ultium Cells Plant 1, established in Ohio as a joint venture with General Motors (GM). All of the roughly 850 temporarily laid-off workers will return in stages from the 27th through mid-August. Plant operations are expected to ramp up in earnest in the fourth quarter after facility maintenance and a production capacity ramp-up process. LG Energy Solution and GM plan to adjust battery output in line with the pace of the EV market's recovery.
Ultium Cells Plant 1 closed last January as work dried up amid a sharp drop in EV demand. The decisive blow came when the Donald Trump administration eliminated EV subsidies of up to $7,500 (about 11 million won) per vehicle last September. All batteries produced at the plant were supplied to GM, but even GM, with its large US market share, saw battery inventories pile up as EVs failed to sell. GM ultimately closed some battery plants, including Ultium Cells, as well as EV assembly plants, carrying out large-scale layoffs.
Many in the industry had expected the EV chasm to ease only after 2027 at the earliest. A global slowdown in energy transition, insufficient EV infrastructure, and consumer resistance had slowed the pace of EV adoption. But the mood shifted as oil prices surged following the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Market research firm SNE Research forecast that the oil price shock stemming from the Middle East war would advance the recovery of demand in the global EV market by at least two years. Governments are encouraging EV purchases over internal combustion engines from an energy security standpoint, and consumers are increasingly choosing EVs as the gap in maintenance costs widens.
This is why LG Energy Solution and GM decided to restart Ultium Cells Plant 1. EV sales have shown a marked upward trend this year, led by Europe. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), EV sales in Europe rose 15.3% through May this year compared with the same period last year. Over the same period, new car registrations grew just 4%. The three major markets of Italy (75.7%), France (55.4%), and Germany (40.9%) led the growth in EV sales.
EV demand is also rising sharply in Korea. The Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) said domestic EV sales in the first half reached 201,096 units, up 92.1% from 92,242 units a year earlier. SNE Research analyzed that global EV deliveries through May this year totaled 7.754 million units, up 3.5% from a year earlier (7.49 million units), while EV battery deliveries reached 469.2 GWh, up 16.3% from a year earlier (403.3 GWh).
The US market has not yet turned to recovery. US market research firm Cox Automotive tallied that EV sales fell 23.8% to 462,892 units this year from 607,653 units in the first half of 2025. However, analysts noted a base effect, as demand was pulled forward last year with consumers buying EVs early ahead of the subsidy elimination. The industry analyzes that US EV demand will inevitably follow the global trend before long.
LG Energy Solution and GM also resumed operations at Ultium Cells Plant 2 in Tennessee this month. Plant 2 had halted operations along with Plant 1, but reopened after converting to a production line for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for energy storage systems (ESS). About 700 temporarily laid-off workers also returned.
A Hyundai Motor joint venture plant in Georgia, where about 300 Koreans were detained last year, has completed construction and is preparing for mass production of EV batteries. As a result, LG Energy Solution's overall plant utilization rate, which stood at 46.9% in the first quarter, is expected to rise to around 60% in the second half.