SK On will supply batteries to Nissan for U.S.-made electric vehicles, the two companies announced Wednesday in a press release.
Under the agreement, SK On will supply nearly 100 gigawatt-hours of batteries to Nissan from 2028 to 2033. They’ll go into EVs produced at the automaker’s Canton, Mississippi, assembly plant starting in 2028. Nissan plans to build at least four EV models at that plant, spanning both its main brand and Infiniti luxury brand.
This deal “will support” 1,700 U.S. jobs at SK On and involves a $661 million investment. Nissan is spending $500 million to ready the plant for EV production, so not counting other suppliers the total is well over $1 billion.
Nissan EV to be made in Mississippi
The deal is an indication that Nissan is finally close to beginning EV production in Canton after multiple delays. In 2022, the automaker originally announced plans to build EVs at the Mississippi plant with a planned 2025 start date. The start was later pushed back to 2027, and then 2028.
Nissan’s Mississippi plant currently makes the gasoline Altima sedan and Frontier pickup truck. SK On currently has two operational U.S. battery plants and is building four more under partnerships. While it currently works with Ford and Volkswagen, among others, this is the first supply agreement between the South Korean firm and a Japanese automaker, Nissan noted.
2025 Nissan Leaf
Localized production, with battery manufacturing near vehicle assembly, is something Nissan already planned to emphasize, going back to its Ambition 2030 strategy unveiled in 2021. But the threat of tariffs adds urgency. Honda is reportedly seeking a U.S. battery supply deal with Toyota as a response to that, for example.
After what might have been a completely different future with Honda, Nissan is moving ahead with ambitious product plans announced last year. The Mississippi-built EVs will be among 30 new models the automaker plans to launch globally over the next three years, including 16 electrified models. That cohort will also include a Nissan Rogue hybrid that will finally introduce the automaker’s e-Power hybrid system to the U.S., as well as a next-generation Leaf.
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