Stellantis and a partner, LG Energy Solution, said on Wednesday that they would jointly build a battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, to provide the critical components for a range of electric Jeeps and trucks the automaker aims to introduce over the next several years.
The two companies expect to invest $4.1 billion in the factory and create 2,500 jobs. Stellantis, which was formed last year through a merger of Fiat Chrysler and the French automaker Peugeot, has long operated a minivan plant in Windsor.
The new factory is the latest in a series of plants that automakers have said they will build in North America as they rush to produce electric cars and trucks and catch up to Tesla, which dominates the fast-growing market for electrics. General Motors expects a battery plant in Lordstown, Ohio, to start production this summer, and it is building a second one in Tennessee. Ford Motor has announced plans to build two battery plants in Kentucky and a third in Tennessee. Toyota has chosen North Carolina for a battery plant.
Stellantis said this month that it aimed to introduce 25 electric vehicles in the United States by 2030 and planned to build at least two battery plants in North America. The new models include an electric Jeep to be introduced next year and an electric Ram pickup truck in 2024.
“Our joint venture with LG Energy Solution is yet another steppingstone to achieving our aggressive electrification road map in the region, aimed at hitting 50 percent of battery-electric vehicle sales in the U.S. and Canada by the end of the decade,” Stellantis’s chief executive, Carlos Tavares, said in a statement.
Ford is expected to start producing an electric version of its F-150 pickup in April. G.M. expects to start making an electric Chevrolet Silverado truck next year.