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Knockdown kits involve building most of the vehicle in China and then shipping the components overseas for assembly
By Brian Platt
Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly ruled out the use of knockdown kits if Stellantis NV wants to proceed with Chinese electric vehicle production at its idled Ontario factory, and said the plan must be supported by the provincial government and the workers’ union.
“We can’t bring cars in a kit to Canada,” Joly told reporters in Vancouver on Thursday. “It needs to support the local supply chain.”
Stellantis is in talks with Canadian officials on potentially building EVs in Canada through its Chinese partner, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co., Bloomberg reported this week.
Knockdown kits involve building most of the vehicle in China and then shipping the components overseas for final assembly. Some of Leapmotor’s overseas operations use such kits.
The talks in Canada are focused on a Stellantis assembly plant in Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, where a planned Jeep production line was cancelled last year and moved to the United States. That decision was made in the months after President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on vehicles made outside the U.S.
After Bloomberg’s story was published, both Unifor — a union that represents the roughly 3,000 laid-off workers at the plant — and Ontario Premier Doug Ford slammed any potential use of knockdown kits.
Joly said she would only support the return of production at the Stellantis plant if it was backed by both the Ontario government and Unifor, and laid out other criteria for the plant’s future.
“Conditions for workers need to be good, and actually the same as they were and even better,” Joly said.
She added that software used in any EV built in Canada must be “secure” and in compliance with trade agreements signed with the U.S.
Bloomberg.com
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