Stellantis is selling its 49% stake in a Windsor, Ont., Ontario electric-vehicle battery manufacturing plant to joint-venture partner LG Energy Solution for a nominal US$100, as the automaker undertakes a broader reset of its electric vehicle strategy.

Under the deal, LG Energy Solution will take full ownership of the NextStar Energy plant. Stellantis announced the planned divestment in a news release but did not dislose the price. But The Canadian Press reported that LG has disclosed the $100 price in a regulatory filing. The move comes as Stellantis booked a roughly $36-billion charge related to EV investments.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the company is overhauling its approach as it recalibrates expectations for EV adoption.

“We are today resetting our organization,” he said on a conference call with analysts. “We are resetting our product plan and our EV supply chain, to reflect much more real customer demand and shifting regulation, following an initial overestimation of pace of adoption of electrification.”

LG Energy Solution CEO David Kim said full ownership of NextStar Energy will enable the South Korean company to respond to demand growth in North America.

“Full ownership of NextStar Energy will enable us to respond swiftly to the growing demand from the (electrical energy-storage) market and position us to play a key role in Canada’s EV industry by securing additional North American-based customers,” said Kim.

NextStar Energy was established in 2022, with Stellantis investing US$980 million in the facility, which employs more than 1,300 people and targets 2,500 jobs at full production. The Ontario and federal governments have backed the project with billions of dollars in performance-based incentives.

The companies said Stellantis will remain a committed customer of NextStar Energy.

“This is a smart, strategic step that supports our customers, our Canadian operations, and our global electrification road map,” Filosa said in a statement.

The 4.23-million-square-foot facility spans 11 buildings, including two main manufacturing centres for cell and module production as well as a recycling centre and safety-testing laboratory. Core operations will include electrode production, cell formation and assembly, and module assembly.

Construction began in 2022, with more than 9,000 Canadian trades workers contributing over 8.4 million work hours.

The plant has the capacity to produce up to 49.5 gigawatts annually, positioning Windsor as a hub for Canada’s EV supply chain despite wider economic uncertainties such as U.S. tariffs, said the company. The NextStar development is first large-scale battery manufacturing facility.

Pictured: NextStar EV battery plant in Windsor, Ont.

Photo: Stellantis