Chrysler Parent Stellantis is Making a US$2.8 Billion Investment in its Canadian Operations to Accelerate the Production of Electric Vehicles

author: Eric Walz   

Automaker Stellantis is investing $3.6 billion CAD (US$2.8 billion) in its Canadian operations to accelerate the company's transition to a sustainable future. The new investment will also support the automaker's long-term electrification strategy, which includes a previously announced $45 billion CAD (US$35 billion) investment through 2025 for electrifying its model lineup and building software-defined vehicles.

The latest investments will go towards retooling the automaker's Windsor and Brampton (Ontario) Assembly Plants to build EVs, as well as expanding its Automotive Research and Development Center (ARDC) in Canada.

Retooling is expected to begin in 2023.

Stellantis North America Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the investment announcement during an event on Monday at the ARDC.

"These investments reaffirm our long-term commitment to Canada and represent an important step as we move toward zero-emission vehicles that deliver on our customers' desire for innovative, clean, safe and affordable mobility," said Stewart. "We're grateful to both the federal and provincial governments for their shared vision to create a sustainable future." 

As part of the new investments by Stellantis, the company's Windsor Assembly Plant will be transformed to support production of a new multi-energy vehicle (MEV) architecture that will underpin multiple Stellantis models. In addition, the plant will be able to adjust production volumes as needed to meet the growing market demand for electric vehicles over the next decade. 

The Windsor facility currently produces the Chrysler Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid, Chrysler Voyager and Chrysler Grand Caravan.

The Stellantis Brampton Assembly Plant, which currently builds the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger, will be retooled and fully modernized, beginning in 2024. When production resumes in 2025, the plant will introduce an all-new, flexible architecture to support Stellantis' future electrification plans. 

According to Stellantis, both Ontario assembly plants are expected to return to three shift operations in order to support the demand for these new electrified vehicle products. The company said it will announce product allocation at the plants at a later date.

"Today's deal on made-in-Canada electric vehicles is yet another investment in our workers and in our future," said Prime Minister Trudeau. "We're building a world-class Canadian auto industry, an innovative economy and a clean, strong future for everyone. This is what a healthy environment and a healthy economy looks like." 

Also as part of the boosted investments by Stellantis in Canada, the Windsor-based ARDC will be expanded and add more than 650 highly skilled engineering jobs in various areas to support the automaker's growth in electrification. The ARDC will focus on core EV technology areas, including propulsion systems, batteries, power electronics, motor controls, energy management and embedded software.

The building is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.  

The ARDC also will become the first Stellantis battery development lab in North America, following the company's announcement to establish a similar center in Turin, Italy.  The Canadian Battery Lab will develop and validate advanced cells, modules and battery packs. This in-house capability will help to accelerate Stellantis' transition to EVs. 

The assembly line at Brampton Assembly Plant in April 2016. (Photo: Stellantis)

The new investment by Stellantis boosts the automaker's overall investment in Ontario to $8.6 billion CAD, which includes the Stellantis-LG Energy Solution joint venture EV battery plant announced in late March.

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution are establishing the first large-scale, domestic, electric-vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Windsor to support the company's electric battery development with an investment of $5 billion CAD (US$4.1 billion). The joint venture will produce leading edge lithium-ion battery cells and modules to meet a significant portion of Stellantis' vehicle production requirements in North America. 

The battery plant will become the first large-scale, domestic, EV battery manufacturing plant in Canada and is set to become operational in 2024. Once the manufacturing facility is up and running, the plant will have an annual production capacity of approximately 45 gigawatt-hours, according to Stellantis. 

In July 2021, Stellantis, which is the world's fourth biggest automaker, announced plans to invest more than 30 billion Euros ($35.5 billion) through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup. The company is following Volkswagen, General Motors, Volvo and other global automakers that are investing billions to develop new electric vehicles.

In order to execute its electrification strategy, Stellantis said it will invest in software development and make equity investments in joint ventures to fund the development of technologies for its future vehicles. 

The new investments will help Stellantis to realize its electrification goals for North America.

During the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, Stellantis announced that its Chrysler brand will stop building gas-powered vehicles by 2028. 

Future EVs from Stellantis will be built on one of four new modular EV platforms being developed by the automaker. The four platforms are designed with a high level of flexibility and each will share core components to reduce costs. Each platform can support production of up to 2 million vehicles per year, according to Stellantis.

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.