Stellantis N.V. and LG Energy Solution have officially announced binding, definitive agreements to establish the first EV battery manufacturing facility in Canada. The investment is said to be worth $4.1 billion USD ($5 billion CAD). The joint venture will be responsible for producing lithium-ion battery cells and modules to meet a significant portion of the automaker’s vehicle production requirements in North America. Groundbreaking of the plant is scheduled to begin “later this year,” while production of the batteries are set to begin in the first quarter of 2024. This is in line with the production of the upcoming electric Dodge muscle car, Ram Revolution EV truck, Jeep Wrangler EV, and other vehicles that will be specific to the US and Canadian market. An estimated 2,500 new jobs are expected to be created out of this new plant.
Image Via Jeep## Stellantis-LG Windsor Battery Plant: The First Details
The Stellantis-LG Windsor battery plant aims to have an annual production capacity in excess of 45 gigawatt hours (GWh), and has the support of municipal, provincial and federal levels of the Canadian government.
Stellantis intends to reach 5 million EV sales by 2030, reaching 100% of passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in North America. Stellantis also increased planned battery capacity by 140 GWh to approximately 400 GWh, to be supported by five battery manufacturing plants together with additional supply contracts.
That’s a lot of rare earth metals, to be sure.
LG – which will also supply General Motors with its Ultium EV battery technology that will power the likes of the Hummer EV and Silverado EV – has now secured production capacity of over 200 GWh in North America annually, which they say translates into production of 2.5 million electric vehicles per year.
Image via Ram Trucks.## Brampton Stays Online?
Our suspicions of Brampton Assembly being converted into a battery plant didn’t end up being the case. Being the sole facility that builds the Dodge Challenger and Charger, the future of the facility remains publicly murky as production of these vehicles is expected to wind down in 2023, making way for an electric muscle car, which carries vintage Charger design cues. Previous rumors allege that Charger and Challenger production would return to the United States, likely to Detroit, but that so far remains unconfirmed.
Stellantis signed a 2020 collective bargaining agreement with Canadian Union Organization Unifor, agreeing to $50 million into three new variants of the popular muscle car, as well as continued production of the 300. This agreement is set to be re-negotiated by 2023, lining up with when the electric Dodge muscle car will reach production and when the current-generation, much-celebrated, top-selling Charger and Challenger ride off into the sunset. Before that, however, three new variants of the Charger and Challenger are reportedly expected. Stay tuned for more.
Screenshot via Stellantis.
