No deal yet on electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Stellantis says

Liam Casey and Allison Jones, The Canadian Press

In this file photo taken on Jan. 19, 2021, the Stellantis sign is seen outside the Chrysler Technology Center, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

There is no deal yet to save a $5-billion electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., automaker Stellantis said Thursday.

Negotiations continue between the federal government, Ontario, Stellantis and LG Energy Solution after the companies paused construction on their planned factory in a dispute over federal subsidies.

Spokeswoman LouAnn Gosselin said Stellantis "to date has not received an official response from its previously sent letters."

She did not provide further details.

Ontario's Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said both he and Premier Doug Ford have been on the phone with the federal government and Stellantis over the last several days in an effort to finish the deal.

"We continue to urge the federal government to conclude their deal with Stellantis," he said at Queen's Park in Toronto on Thursday.

"The premier has been very clear that we will be there financially to assist the federal government in closing their deal with Stellantis."

The negotiations have been stuck between what Canada thinks is fair and affordable and what the company believes it is due.

Stellantis has threatened to move the plant out of Windsor if it doesn't get what it says it was promised by the federal government in an agreement reached in February.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Wednesday they were inching closer to a deal.

Champagne said he made an offer similar to what the federal government and Ontario gave Volkswagen for an electric vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont.

That deal could be worth up to $13 billion over 10 years.

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution announced their plans to build the facility in March 2022. The federal and provincial governments pledged $1 billion as capital for the project.

But the United States changed the landscape last summer when it announced new production tax credits for EV battery makers as part of the Inflation Reduction Agreement.

That prompted the companies to ask for more government support.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.