Stellantis will invest $99 million into factories in North America to build a new 1.6-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine for two, upcoming hybrid models. Production of the powerplant will begin in early 2025.
This engine is based on a powerplant that's currently available from Stellantis brands in Europe. A company spokesperson told us that it was in Peugeot and Citroen vehicles.
Gallery: Stellantis Dundee Engine, Kokomo Casting, and Etobicoke Casting Factories
This investment will include nearly $83 million for retooling the Dundee Engine factory in Michigan. The final assembly of the new powerplant will happen there. The site will continue to build the 3.6-liter Pentastar for the Jeep Grand Cherokee lineup. The plant will stop producing the Tigershark 2.4-liter four-cylinder in the first quarter of 2023.
The Kokomo Casting Plant in Indiana will receive over $14 million to convert existing machines for handling the new engine.
The Etobicoke Casting Plant in Toronto will get around $2 million for new tooling and equipment. This site will build the engine's oil pan.
This announcement comes on the heels of some other major investments into North America from Stellantis. For example, the automaker will put $2.8 billion into Canada to support building future EV tech. The Windsor Assembly Plant will produce a multi-energy vehicle architecture. The Brampton Assembly Plant will also build a new, flexible architecture. Plus, there will be the new Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor that will specialize in electric motors, batteries, and other necessary components.
Combustion engines still have a future with the automaker, too. Stellantis is putting $24.7 million into the Trenton Engine Complex in Michigan. The money goes toward retooling to build a flexible powerplant production line for building two variants of the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. At the same time, the plant is decommissioning a second, existing line.
Stellantis calls its electrification plan Dare Forward 2030. The goal is for all of the automaker's offerings to have electric propulsion in Europe by that year. In the US, the aim is for 50 percent of products to be EVs.
