The company said on Monday that it will spend over $3 billion to increase production of electric vehicles at two of its Canadian plants. The funding is part of the $35.5 billion Stellantis dedicated to electric vehicles and new software over the next year in its push to move away from internal combustion engines and be carbon net zero by 2038.
Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis North America, along with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, announced the changes to the Windsor and Brampton, Ontario facilities during an event at the automotive research and development center in Windsor.
The Canadian government and the Ontario government will invest up to $410.7 million and $398 million, respectively, in the new funds.
Prime Minister Trudeau said at the event that the deal on made-in-Canada electric vehicles was yet another investment in workers and in the future. A healthy environment and a healthy economy are what this looks like.
More than 650 engineering jobs will be created at the Windsor R&D center as a result of the funding. An additional 2,500 jobs will be created at the joint battery venture, which was announced in October last year. At the time, Stellantis said only that its new factory would be built in North America, but now it's clear that it's going to be in Ontario.
It's not clear which brands will be affected, but it's likely there will be continued work on the Chrysler Pacifica hybrid.
The Windsor factory currently produces the Pacifica, as well as the Chrysler Voyager and Grand Caravan, which are only available in the Canadian market. Chrysler, best known for its minivans and being a family-friendly brand, will become all-electric by 2028, according to a report. The Airflow Concept is an all-wheel-drive electric SUV.
The Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Challenger and Charger are on their way out of the Brampton facility. The eMuscle is an electric muscle car that will be launched by Dodge in 2024.
The modernization and retooling at Windsor is expected to begin in 2023, and the production at the latter is expected to begin in 2025, with all-new, flexible architecture to support the company's electrification.
The brands that will be affected by the fresh funds will be announced later. Regardless, we can expect the vehicles produced in those factories to feature the automaker's new software technology, from which Stellantis has said it plans to generate $22.5 billion annually. All new Stellantis vehicles will feature the sTLA Brain, a cloud-connected technology that allows for over the air software upgrades.
If you want a high-tech hit now, you can upgrade to an Amazon Fire TV to watch shows and movies, or get information from the voice-controlled assistant, the partnership will hit millions of Stellantis vehicles by the year 2024.
Stellantis has 29 electric models on sale. By the end of the decade, the automaker hopes to reach 75 BEVs globally, 25 of which will target the U.S. market. The first-ever fully electric Jeep SUV is expected to launch next year, as well as the new Ram 1500 BEV pickup, which is expected for 2024.
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