Stellantis reviewing written offer related to Windsor EV battery plant

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution EV battery plant construction site in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, May 15, 2023. (Sijia Liu/CTV News Windsor)

Stellantis and LG Energy Solution are reviewing a written offer related to the EV battery plant in Windsor.

Negotiations with the federal government have been stuck since mid-May and a portion of construction was stopped at the site on Banwell Road.

Here is the statement issued by Stellantis on Tuesday.

“Stellantis and LGES are in receipt of a written offer that is currently under financial and legal review. We have nothing further to add at this time,” said the statement.

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 Francois-Philippe Champagne said Tuesday that progress is being made and he’s very confident a deal will be reached but won’t negotiate in public.

Last week, 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.

Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli said at Queen's Park Thursday it is now up to the federal government to close the deal, but the province will be there to support.

The Ontario government offered to increase the $500-million subsidy already offered to Stellantis.

~ With files from The Canadian Press in an article that was first published June 1, 2023.