Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD and two Canadian defence companies have inquired about Stellantis’s idled Brampton assembly plant, according to Mayor Patrick Brown, but none has publicly confirmed its interest.

Brown told Bloomberg that BYD contacted him about six months ago to discuss producing buses at the 40-year-old factory at 2000 Williams Pkwy. E. He said Roshel and Dominion Dynamics had also asked about the facility, with Roshel considering light utility armoured vehicles and Dominion Dynamics considering drone production.

The approaches described by Brown were inquiries. There is no public evidence that any of the three companies is negotiating with Stellantis to buy or lease the property.

Roshel has said it needs about 2M SF if it secures a $6B federal military-vehicle contract and is considering vacant automotive facilities. CEO Roman Shimonov earlier told CityNews that real estate discussions had begun, but he did not identify the Stellantis plant.

Brown also told Bloomberg that Leapmotor International, a Stellantis joint venture, and an unidentified Italian automaker had inquired about the site. Bloomberg reported that Stellantis was exploring Canadian electric-vehicle production options with Leapmotor.

As Connect reported earlier, Unifor said Stellantis was considering selling the 269-acre property and discussing a transaction with another company. Stellantis has not announced a sale and said its focus remains on finding a sustainable manufacturing solution for the 2.95M-SF plant, which has been idle since December 2023.