Stellantis will invest $2.8 billion ($3.6 billion CAD) in the transformation of its Windsor and Brampton assembly plants in Ontario, Canada, and the expansion of the Automotive Research and Development Centre (ARDC) as part of the company's electrification drive.
The announcement supports the company's Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan and its long-term electrification strategy to invest $35 billion through 2025 in electrification and software globally.
As part of the plan, the Windsor Assembly Plant will be transformed to support production of a new multi-energy vehicle (MEV) architecture that will provide battery-electric (BEV) capability for multiple models. This suggests that Stellantis will build both hybrid and battery-electric models.
According to Stellantis, "the plant will have maximum flexibility to adjust production volumes as needed to meet changing market demand over the next decade." Retooling of the plant that currently makes Chrysler minivans is expected to begin next year.
The Brampton Assembly Plant will be retooled and fully modernized from 2024 to produce an all-new, flexible architecture to support the company's electrification plans when production resumes in 2025. The facility will build at least one all-new electric model on a flexible assembly line capable of producing both battery-electric and hybrid vehicles.
The modernized plant will have an initial annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Brampton currently makes the Dodge Challenger coupe and Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans. Stellantis did not announce product allocation for its Ontario assembly plants but said the facilities are expected to return to three shifts in order to support the demand for the new products.
In addition, the Windsor-based ARDC will add more than 650 highly skilled engineering jobs in various areas to support Stellantis' growth in electrification.
The center will focus on core technology areas: electrified propulsion systems (including batteries), power electronics, electric machines, motor controls, energy management and embedded software. Furthermore, the ARDC will spawn the first battery lab in North America, following the company's announcement to set up a similar center in Turin, Italy.
The lab will develop and validate advanced BEV, PHEV and HEV cells, modules, and battery packs. A new 100,000-square-foot facility will be added to the existing building with completion expected by the end of 2023.
The announcement increases Stellantis' overall investment in Ontario to $6.7 billion when combined with the $3.9 billion Stellantis-LG Energy Solution joint venture battery plant, which will build "leading edge lithium-ion battery cells and modules" and create 2,500 new jobs in the province.
