Stellantis Puts The Brakes On Ontario EV Battery Manufacturing Plant

Stellantis’s Windsor battery plant might be on hold.

Automakers have been scrambling to establish battery manufacturing facilities in North America. Ontario has been the site of several investments from GM, Ford, and Volkswagen. However, Stellantis is putting the brakes on one major project, because of funds, according to Automotive News.

This isn’t due to the lack of funds, no, but rather a dispute between Stellantis and the Canadian federal government. Stellantis’s plant would produce cells and modules for new EV batteries. It included $1.4 billion CAD from LG, and an undisclosed amount of money from the Canadian government. However, Stellantis doesn’t think the government is kicking in enough, and sources say that they want at least as much assistance as Volkswagen is getting for its factory. Stellantis claims that the “Canadian Government has not delivered on what was agreed to.”

Because of this dispute, Stellantis has stopped construction on its plant, specifically the module portion.

The Canadian federal government is in talks and negotiations with Stellantis. The government has reiterated that the new plant would be incredibly important to the Canadian economy and provide jobs. Yet, if the two parties can’t come to an agreement, then construction on the plant won’t continue. Naturally, quite a few labor unions and adjacent parties are tense at the lack of a resolution and the possible loss of hundreds of Canadian jobs. Some remain optimistic that a deal will soon be reached, and construction on the plant will continue. Until then, construction remains halted on the plant.

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