(Reuters) – Stellantis said on Wednesday it would invest more than $406 million in three factories in Michigan, U.S., to support the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids.
One of those plants, the Sterling Heights assembly plant, would become the first in the United States to build all-electric vehicles, the company said in a statement.
The group also intends to modernize the Warren assembly plant, to produce its future electric Jeep Wagoneer model, and the Dundee plant for battery holders.
In line with its Dare Forward 2030 plan, Stellantis wants to invest more than €50 billion over the decade to achieve 100% of battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales in Europe and 50% of BEV sales for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the United States by 2030.
However, at the beginning of August, the group announced the layoff of 2,450 people at the Warren site, on the outskirts of Detroit, due to the cessation of production of its Ram 1500 Classic model.
Stellantis also temporarily halted production of two of its key U.S. models, the Jeep Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee SUV, adjusting output at several factories, the Wall Street Journal reported in early September.
In August, CEO Carlos Tavares spent three days at the group’s U.S. headquarters in suburban Detroit to work out a strategy to address the automotive group’s struggling North American operations.
Stellantis’ recurring operating profit fell 40% in the first half, mainly due to poor sales performance in North America.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bangalore; Editing by Kate Entringer)
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