--- title: "GM Sells Joint EV Battery Plant to Samsung: TDS" date: "2026-08-11" modified: "2026-08-11" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/gm-bails-on-joint-ev-battery-plant-with-samsung-tds" categories: - "News" - "The Downshift" tags: - "Bolt" - "Chevrolet" - "compact" - "Electric Vehicle" --- # GM Sells Joint EV Battery Plant to Samsung: TDS ![Chevy Bolt, red, rear three-quarters view]() *\General Motors\* Welcome to *[The Downshift]()*, or TDS for short, *The Driveโ€™s* morning news roundup serving the biggest automotive headlines from around the world. *The Downshift* summarizes news items in a few sentences, with links to other sites to get the deeper story. Hereโ€™s your bulletin for Tuesday, August 11, 2026. ๐Ÿชซ General Motors and Samsung's joint battery plant in Indiana won't involve GM at all, it turns out, as the automaker has decided to sell its 49.99% stake in the $3.5 billion project to its partner, making it fully owned by Samsung. The facility was announced three years ago and is still in development. *\[[Automotive News]()\]* ๐Ÿš Stellantis decided to bring a Chrysler Pacifica nobody asked for to Roadkill Nights, and it actually looks pretty sick? The VANkulture Pacifica sports a VIS Racing bodykit, 20-inch Vossen wheels, fat track tires, big Rotora brakes, coilovers, matte-metallic red paint to fit it soundly in the SRT family, and...no powertrain improvements whatsoever, aside from a Magnaflow exhaust. So close. *\[[Stellantis]()\]* ๐ŸŒ Car sales within China continue to fall, with July marking the 10th straight month of decline and approximately 21% fewer sales than a year earlier. However, exports by Chinese automakers to other markets soared by 88%, continuing a trend that's played out through 2026 so far. *\[[Reuters]()\]* ๐Ÿ–Œ๏ธ Designer David Woodhouse, who previously served at Lincoln and Nissan, has joined McLaren as its Chief Creative Officer. *\[[Ford Authority]()\]* ๐Ÿ”‹ Speaking of which, do you need a new battery pack for your McLaren P1? Fortunately, a company by the name of V Engineering in England has introduced a new battery that is about 50 pounds lighter while also sporting over double the energy capacity of the original unit, specifically for McLaren's hybrid halo hypercar of a decade ago. It all goes to show how far EV technology has advanced. *\[[Autocar]()\]* ๐Ÿง‘โ€โš–๏ธ A Virginia woman is suing Tesla for $10 million after crashing the Model Y she was test driving into a nail salon because it was allegedly set to "Insane Mode," which allows it to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in as little as 3.3 seconds. *\[[Automotive News]()\]* *Got a tip or feedback for TDS? Reach out to tips@thedrive.com* []() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()