LG Energy Solution准备重启Ultium Ohio电池厂并预计下半年利用率升至约60%

As global electric vehicle sales gradually recover, analysts increasingly argue that the "chasm," or temporary demand slowdown, is nearing its end. LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) is restarting a U.S. EV battery plant that had halted operations. Expectations are rising as plant operations resume in the United States, where the EV market was hit hard.
According to the industry on the 21st, LG Energy Solution is preparing to restart the first plant of Ultium Cells, a joint venture established with GM (General Motors) in Ohio. All of the roughly 850 workers who had been temporarily laid off will return to work in stages from the 27th through mid-August. Plant operations are expected to go into full swing in the fourth quarter after facility maintenance and a ramp-up process to increase production capacity. LG Energy Solution and GM plan to adjust battery output in line with the pace of the EV market recovery.
Ultium Cells' first plant closed in January as work dwindled amid a sharp drop in EV demand. A decisive blow came when the Donald Trump administration abolished EV subsidies of up to $7,500 per vehicle (about 11 million won) last September. All batteries produced at the plant were supplied to GM, but even GM, with its large U.S. market share, saw battery inventories pile up as EVs failed to sell. GM eventually closed some battery plants and EV assembly plants, including Ultium Cells, and carried out large-scale layoffs.
Many in the industry had expected the EV chasm to ease no earlier than after 2027. A slower global pace of energy transition, insufficient EV infrastructure, and consumer reluctance had slowed the spread of EVs. 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 from the Middle East war would accelerate the recovery of demand in the global EV market by at least two years. This reflects governments encouraging EV purchases over internal combustion engines from an energy security standpoint, as well as growing consumer demand for EVs as the gap in maintenance costs widens.
This is why LG Energy Solution and GM decided to restart Ultium Cells' first plant. EV sales have shown a marked upward trend this year, centered on 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. New car registrations grew only 4% over the same period. The three largest markets—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) reported that domestic EV sales in the first half stood at 201,096 units, up 92.1% from 92,242 units last year. SNE Research analyzed that global EV deliveries through May this year reached 7.754 million units, up 3.5% from 7.49 million a year earlier, while EV battery deliveries reached 469.2 GWh, up 16.3% from 403.3 GWh a year earlier.
The U.S. market has yet to turn to recovery. U.S. 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 from last year, when demand for early EV purchases was concentrated in the wake of the EV subsidy abolition. The industry analyzes that U.S. EV demand will inevitably follow the global trend before long.
LG Energy Solution and GM also resumed operations at Ultium Cells' second plant in Tennessee this month. The second plant had halted operations along with the first, and reopened after converting to a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery production line for energy storage systems (ESS). About 700 temporarily laid-off workers also returned.
The joint venture plant with Hyundai Motor in Georgia—where about 300 Koreans were detained last year—has also 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.