General Motors Co. will invest nearly $ 800 million to bring production of the BrightDrop EV600 electric vehicle to its CAMI plant in Ontario, Canada.
The investment will convert the plant into a large-scale electric delivery vehicle manufacturing plant to support GM’s timeline for delivering the EV600 in late 2021, the company said in a statement. declaration. The agreement is subject to approval with the Unifor union and confirmation of government support.
GM announced on Tuesday the creation of a fully controlled company, BrightDrop, last week, with plans to supply battery-powered vans, but also offer fleet management services.
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The proposed investment would create Canada’s first large-scale commercial EV plant, Premier Doug Ford of Ontario and Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said in a statement.
Separately, Ford Motor Co. reached a provisional contract agreement with Unifor in the second half of last year, including plans to assemble five battery-powered models starting in 2025 at the company’s factory in Oakville, Ontario. The factory was in danger of being closed because the Edge SUV made there has an uncertain future.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has also agreed to spend between C $ 1.35 billion and C $ 1.5 billion on a new electric vehicle platform at its plant in Windsor, Ontario.
GM has deep roots in Ontario, having built more than 20 million vehicles in its Oshawa plant since 1918. GM said last fall that it will invest up to C $ 1.3 billion (US $ 997 million) to reopen its assembly plant in Oshawa under a provisional agreement with Unifor.
(Updates with comments from the Ontario government and related EV pacts from the fourth paragraph.)