Stellantis sells Canada plant to armored vehicle maker Roshel

Stellantis NV signed a deal to sell an idled auto plant near Toronto to Roshel Inc., a Canadian armored vehicle manufacturer, for undisclosed terms. The plant in Brampton, Ontario, once employed about 3,000 unionized workers but hasn’t been in production since late 2023, and has become a prime example of the damage to Canada’s auto sector caused by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. “Brampton employees have made lasting contributions to Stellantis, and we take our responsibilities to them and their families seriously. After three years of paid layoff, we remain committed to working with Unifor on a fair resolution,” Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’ CEO, said in a statement, referring to the union that represents laid-off auto workers at the plant. Stellantis was set to build the Jeep Compass SUV there, but scrapped that plan last year following Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs on foreign-made cars. The automaker said those vehicles will be produced in Illinois instead. Stellantis, created from the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, is grappling with stubbornly high U.S. inventory levels, persistent quality issues and fierce Chinese competition in Europe that have complicated turnaround efforts. To reignite growth, the automaker is in the midst of a turnaround effort and plans to spend some 60 billion euros ($67.2 billion) through 2030 to launch dozens of new models, prioritizing the Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat brands. In North America, it plans to add new trucks to try to rebuild sales. But company executives have expressed significant doubts about whether the Brampton plant, which is about 40 years…

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