Stellantis received $334.7 million to restore operations at the Belvidere plant and support electric vehicle production. The conversion of the Stellantis Belvidere assembly plant was one of nine projects selected for a $1.7 billion investment by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
Stellantis Belvidere plant will resume operations thanks to a $334.7 million investment to produce electric cars
The investment supports the transition from historic automobile manufacturing plants to electric vehicle facilities at 11 at-risk automobile manufacturing and assembly plants in eight states. According to reports, this investment will create thousands of union jobs and support American automotive communities. “Getting the Belvidere plant back up and running has been one of my top priorities since I came to Congress,” Sorenson said.
“This grant for converting domestic car production helps transform the plant into an electric vehicle manufacturing facility, so we can create well-paying, unionized jobs while investing in a clean energy future. I’m grateful to Governor Pritzker for helping us secure this important funding that will help strengthen the local economy and make northern Illinois a better place to live, work, and start a family.” Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin also expressed their support for the investment.
The announcement comes after recording a 21% drop in sales in the United States compared to last year. In this market, Stellantis seems to be struggling significantly, with Fiat 500e and Dodge Hornet being the slowest to sell. We’ll see if this investment will help improve the Group’s fortunes in the United States, also considering the negative trend of electric cars in the market.