An inauguration ceremony for Samsung SDI’s newly completed electric vehicle battery production facility in the Gaoxin Industrial District in Xi’an, in Shaanxi Province, China, was recently held by the Korean company.

Worth noting here is that Samsung SDI is now the first “top” battery manufacturer to develop an electric vehicle (EV) battery production plant in China; and to initiate mass production in the economic powerhouse.

Green Car Congress provides more:

The Xi’an plant has initiated its operation from September. It has finalized battery supply agreements with 10 local personal and commercial vehicle companies and is already delivering. Some of these companies include bus manufacturer Yutong and leading truck manufacturer Foton.

The finalized Samsung SDI Xi’an Plant can manufacture batteries for approximately 40,000 full electric vehicles per year. The plant is capable of producing cells and modules. Preparing for increased market demand in the future, Samsung SDI will invest US$600 million into the Xi’an battery plant until 2020 with the goal of achieving US$1 billion in sales.

Impressive numbers. Not quite on the scale of the Gigafactory, but still quite notable. On that note, it should probably be remembered that, while operations are set to begin at the Gigafactory next year, full operational capacity isn’t expected to be reached for several more years. The opening next year is simply of the first phase.

Originally published on EV Obsession.