Fiat Chrysler to spend up to $1.5 billion to build EVs at Canadian plant

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will spend between $1.35 billion and $1.5 billion in its Windsor assembly plant located in Canada to build electric vehicles as part of a tentative deal with Canadian autoworkers, Unifor National President Jerry Dias said on Thursday.

The auto union said FCA would make an investment in a state-of-the-art vehicle platform that will allow the assembly of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles, with at least one new model in 2025.

The announcement comes less than a month following Unifor’s statement that Ford Motor would invest C$1.95 billion ($1.46 billion) in its Oakville and Windsor plants.

“Not only is Fiat-Chrysler maintaining the current portfolio but they will be investing three derivatives to enhance the current portfolio,” Dias said.

Unifor also said it expects to expand the life of the Chrysler 300, a rear-wheel-drive luxury car, and introduce multiple derivatives of the Dodge Charger and Challenger.

The union said as many as 2,000 jobs would be generated in 2024 at the Windsor plant.

Market forecasting firm LMC Automotive said it would take until 2024 for U.S. vehicle sales to make a recovery from the downturn caused by the coronavirus crisis and get close to the 17 million vehicles sold in 2019.