Zac Quinn 
Stellantis and LG Energy Solutions are reportedly teaming up to make a battery plant in Ontario, Canada. And while it’s not immediately clear, the facility is expected to be in Brampton, Ontario. The location, near Toronto, is where the current-generation Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger muscle cars are built. Brampton currently employs around 3,000 people.
Update: Stellantis and LG Chem will be building the battery plant in Windsor, and will employ roughly 2,500 people.
Stellantis Battery Plant, The Dodge Muscle Cars, And What It All Means
Here are the facts: Stellantis has tasked every brand to become viable in the electric vehicle space. That includes Dodge, which has found itself atop of the American performance car pinnacle, offering customers the roar of a Hemi V8 engine in multiple outputs, vehicle segments, and budgets. Dodge leaned into the ethos of the muscle car, and was subsequently rewarded in the marketplace. But, as we’re told, the bachelor party is coming to an end, and Dodge plans on introducing a fully electric performance car – codenamed “Halo” – that will be introduced in concept form by the end of 2022, and will go into production by 2024. This timeline is expected to also count down the end of production for the current Dodge Charger and Challenger, which took 1-2 in muscle car sales last year.
Purely Speculating Beyond This Point
Here’s a rumor: Stellantis is reportedly not going to build its next-generation Dodge muscle cars – whatever form they may take – in Brampton. The rumor is that their production could return to America, although with Detroit Jefferson (Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee), Detroit Mack (Jeep Grand Cherokee), Sterling Heights (Ram 1500), Warren Truck (Wagoneer, Ram 1500), Toledo (Jeep Wrangler, Gladiator) and Belvidere (Jeep Cherokee) all having occupancy, it’s tough to tell if that’s actually a possibility.
Except for Detroit Jefferson North Assembly, and here’s why:
Update: JNAP will be building the new Jeep Grand Cherokee with capacity for future electric vehicles. It could still mean an electric Dodge ends up there, but it’s more likely that it means an eventual Grand Cherokee EV.
Another report points to the Dodge Durango going full-size, utilizing the Ram DT platform like we see with the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. This would theoretically move the future Durango to Warren Truck, and thus open capacity in Detroit for the next-generation Dodge Charger and Challenger to be built there, especially if Grand Cherokee production gets consolidated to Mack. Hopefully they can get more security for the plant by then.
The Future Of The Dodge Charger And Challenger Factory
It’s unclear at the moment if Stellantis seeks to renovate and retool the existing Brampton Assembly Plant to produce batteries, or if a brand new facility will be built. To that end, an unnamed source with knowledge on the matter told Bloomberg that an announcement would be coming this week regarding the building of the plant and its placement in Canada. Total production capacity is expected to be 40-gigawatt hours.
After the batteries are built, they will be leaving the assembly plant to be shipped to Stellantis facilities across North America for installation in plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
Stellantis plans to introduce 25 new all-electric vehicles in North America by 2030. It’s one of several automakers accelerating its transition to electric vehicles to stay ahead of increasingly strict emission regulations.
An official release from Stellantis and LG Energy came in October that stated they would be working together to open a battery plant in North America. The plant will start production in the first quarter of 2024, which is lock-step with the timeline that the electric Dodge muscle car will begin production on the STLA Large EV architecture.
According to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, we will “hit the floor” when we see Dodge’s new EVs, so it’s certainly something to get excited about, if electric performance is your thing.
Update: Stellantis and LG Chem will be building the battery plant in Windsor, and will employ roughly 2,500 people. Meanwhile, JNAP will be building the new Jeep Grand Cherokee with capacity for future electric vehicles. It could still mean an electric Dodge ends up there, but it’s more likely that it means an eventual Grand Cherokee EV.
