Samsung will supply cells to BMW facilities in Europe while LG will provide them to plants in the US starting in the late 2020s, BMW said Monday. In Europe, BMW also uses cells from China’s CATL and EVE Energy Co. 

The new partnerships come as BMW is scaling up production globally of its sixth-generation high-voltage batteries. The parts are central to its new generation of electric models such as the iX3 sport utility vehicle. The company is accelerating the phase-out of its older battery models, it said last week. 

Along with a facility in China, the manufacturer has built up assembly plants for its latest batteries in Germany, Hungary, Mexico and South Carolina. It’s pushing to reduce distances between its suppliers that feed cells into those sites, and where it makes cars, it said.

The decision underscores how European and US carmakers are pushing to curtail their reliance on key components out of China. The country dominates global battery production and the processing of key materials, leaving carmakers exposed on capacity closer to their plants in Europe and North America. 

Separately, the European Union is working on new regulation to encourage more local manufacturing. The rules as part of the Industrial Accelerator Act target certain thresholds where a majority of a vehicle must be made in the bloc to qualify for a range of subsidies.

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