- Stellantis still says it wants to build cars in Brampton.
- Jeep Compass production shifts from Ontario to Illinois.
- Canada provided over CA$1 billion to retool the plant.
The future of a major Canadian auto plant remains uncertain, but not necessarily finished. Months after Stellantis made the controversial decision to axe production at its site in Brampton, Ontario, the company says it remains eager to build cars there, even if it is not yet ready to commit to what vehicle might take shape on the line.
The Brampton site was originally scheduled to build the new Jeep Compass, but due in large part to pressure from the Trump administration, Stellantis will now build the model at its site in Illinois.
Government Funding In Focus
This prompted fierce backlash from the Canadian government, which promptly threatened Stellantis with legal action, noting it had provided more than CA$1 billion (approximately $731 million) to help the automaker retool the Brampton site.
However, while speaking at The Canadian International AutoShow, the president and chief executive of Stellantis Canada, Trevor Longley, said the company wants to continue building cars in Brampton well into the future.
Read: Canada Threatens Stellantis After Jeep Compass Production Leaves Ontario
“The reality is that we want to build cars in Brampton,” he told CTV News. “We’ve been in Canada for 100 years. We’ve been making cars in Canada for 100 years, and we want to continue making cars for the next 100.”
According to Longley, Stellantis is engaged in “productive dialogue with the federal government” and has extended benefits to the 3,000 employees laid off at the site.
For now, the Brampton site sits idle, but Stellantis has increased production of the Dodge Charger and Chrysler Pacifica at its site in Ontario.
“We’re actually one of the only OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) that made more cars in Canada than the previous year, and we’re going to do that again this year,” Longley claims. Recently, Stellantis hired 1,700 staff at the Ontario site to support a third shift, and has also hired more than 600 engineers for its Automotive Research and Development Center in Windsor.
