Stellantis talks to build Chinese EVs in Brampton are ‘unacceptable’:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says “it’s unacceptable” that Stellantis is reportedly in talks with a Chinese automobile manufacturer about the possibility of building Chinese electric vehicles in Canada at its idled ⁠Brampton assembly plant.

A report by Bloomberg News says the alleged talks are with Zhejiang ‌Leapmotor Technology, a Chinese automobile manufacturer with headquarters in Hangzhou, China.

According to Reuters, Stellantis bought a 21 per cent stake in Leapmotor for $1.6 billion in 2023. The two companies also created Leapmotor International, a joint venture in which Stellantis holds a 51 per cent stake.

Lana Payne, president of Unifor, the union that represents thousands of laid-off Stellantis workers, confirmed Thursday that Stellantis is exploring multiple options for Brampton assembly plant, including production with Leapmotor.

In an interview with CBC News in Dallas, Texas, Ford said such a deal would undermine Ontario autoworkers.

“It’s unacceptable. It’s everything against what the federal government told the auto workers here in Ontario,” Ford said.

“We can’t have cheap Chinese parts and kits coming over to be assembled,” he said. “We’re dead against this.”

According to the Bloomberg report, the talks are preliminary.

Production at the Brampton plant, which had about 3,000 employees, ended in late December 2023 and retooling began in January 2024 to prepare for production of the Jeep Compass. 

After U.S. President Donald Trump started rolling out tariffs early last year, the company said it was “temporarily pausing work” at the plant. In October 2025, Stellantis said it was moving the Jeep model’s production out of Ontario to a plant in Illinois. 

Stellantis has “nothing to announce” at this time, said company spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin in an emailed statement. 

She said the company is looking to invest in a future program at the Brampton plant that is sustainable and will be a long-term commitment to support workers and suppliers.

“Stellantis remains focused on a strong Canadian footprint,” Gosselin said. “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.”

‘Knock-down kit plants’ could displace workers: union

Payne said Unifor expects the carmaker to “live up to the commitment” to build and support jobs at the Brampton plant.

There are “serious concerns” regarding possible partnerships with Chinese auto manufacturers to use…