The Stellantis vehicle assembly plant in Brampton, Ont., in October, 2025.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Stellantis NV STLA-N has proposed assembling Chinese electric cars at its idled plant near Toronto with partner Leapmotor, according to a Unifor union official.
The potential investment, first reported by Bloomberg News, is only a proposal at this stage. It would be the first from a Chinese manufacturer after Prime Minister Mark Carney in January reduced tariffs on 49,000 of the country’s EVs to 6.1 per cent from 100 per cent. He did so in exchange for lower China duties on Canadian canola and other food.
Ottawa said the agreement is expected within three years to attract Chinese joint-venture investment in the Canadian EV supply chain. The EV import quota rises to 70,000 in five years – more than half of which will sell for less than $35,000.
Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, which represents the 3,000 laid-off workers at the plant in Brampton, Ont., said the automaker is proposing assembling Chinese cars using parts imported from China, or “knock-down kits.” This is the way Chinese EV makers operate in Mexico and other countries, and involves little local manufacturing or suppliers. It can be a way to skirt domestic tariffs and keep labour costs low.
“This is not a proposal for assembly and manufacturing,” Ms. Payne said. “It’s knock-down kits and it’s a huge problem.”
“The jobs are kept in China where the parts are made, and the vehicle is pre-assembled before it is shipped overseas for kit assembly,” she said, calling on Stellantis to live up to its commitments to the Brampton workers.
Vito Beato, the local Unifor union leader who represents the Brampton workers, said China’s model of assembling vehicles from imported parts provides a fraction of the jobs that a traditional assembly plant does. “I don’t think it’s something the government should be looking at,” he said.
Detroit-based Stellantis invested 1.5 billion euros in Leap in 2023, in a deal that gave it control over the EV maker’s international ventures, the companies said at the time. The Brampton plant has been closed for more than two years, and the production of the planned Jeep Compass vehicle has been moved to Illinois.
The Brampton plant was retooled with federal money, and Industry Minister Melanie Joly has threatened to sue Stellantis for what she says is a violation the funding agreement’s jobs and production requirements. Ms. Joly was not available on Wednesday.
LouAnn Gosselin, a Stellantis Canada spokeswoman, declined to confirm the proposal, but said the company is “actively evaluating future programs for Brampton, with the objective to ensure that any investment decision is sustainable and a long-term commitment that supports workers and suppliers.”
“We are in active discussions with government officials and key stakeholders to ensure that the conditions for success are in place to support continued investment in Canada,” she said, adding the company had no announcement to make on Wednesday.
Stellantis and Leapmotor jointly opened a plant in Poland in 2024 to make the electric T03 car, but closed it in a year. The partnership is expected to produce EVs in Spain this year. The companies have also announced production plans in Brazil and Malaysia.