Samsung SDI has completed construction of a new EV battery plant in Hungary. Located in the town of Goed, 30 kilometers north of Budapest, the plant is capable of producing batteries for 50,000 vehicles annually. Operations are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2018.

The new plant will allow the company to save logistics costs and improve customer service in Europe. The company envisions it as one leg of a global tripod of EV battery production, together with plants in Ulsan, South Korea and Xian, China.

“State-of-the-art technology of Samsung SDI will be applied to batteries to be made in this plant in Hungary,” said Samsung SDI President Jun Young-hyun. “Batteries are one of the most important parts supplied to global car makers. I expect the plant to contribute much to the growth of the European electric vehicle market.”

Source: Samsung SDI via Green Car Congress