In what could mark the first major Chinese EV manufacturing foothold in North America, Stellantis is in early-stage talks with its Chinese partner, Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology, to produce the latter’s electric vehicles at the automaker’s idle assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, according to a Bloomberg News report.
On paper, the deal looks like a rare win-win-win. Stellantis gains a cost-competitive EV lineup. Leapmotor secures a backdoor into the North American market, bypassing steep import tariffs. And Canada gets to restart a shuttered factory, bringing roughly 3,000 unionized workers back to the line.
But beneath the surface, the proposal has triggered a three-front backlash – from the United States, from legacy North American automakers, and from Canadian parts suppliers and unions. Each has a different reason to be “the one who gets nervous.”
The nearly 40-year-old Brampton assembly plant was originally slated for a retooling in 2024 to produce the Jeep Compass starting in 2025. But after former U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, Stellantis halted the retooling, moved Compass production to Illinois, and left Brampton in limbo.
Ottawa was furious. The Canadian government had provided substantial financial support to Stellantis on the condition that it maintain production in the country. Last November, the two parties entered dispute resolution proceedings to force production back to Brampton.
Now, instead of a Jeep, the plant might roll out Chinese-branded EVs – a twist that has reopened old wounds and created new tensions.
The Biden (and now Trump-influenced) administration has long opposed Chinese auto products entering the U.S. market via a third country. Officials have repeatedly warned of heavy tariffs if necessary. Trump himself once floated a 100% tariff on Canadian goods if Canada deepened its auto ties with China.
At the federal level, the U.S. has already banned new Chinese-built cars. More recently, Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno (Rep.) introduced a bill to go further – excluding any vehicle running Chinese software, calling Chinese cars a “cancer.”
In that political climate, Chinese-branded EVs rolling out of a Canadian plant – even if assembled locally – would be viewed in Washington as a loophole that must be closed immediately.
Leapmotor is not a niche player. The company has delivered over 100,000 vehicles for four consecutive quarters. Its C10 AWD Sports+ SUV delivers 590 hp at an equivalent price of just $38,000 USD – a price-to-performance ratio that legacy automakers, still struggling to turn a profit on EVs, cannot easily match.
With Stellantis’ global distribution muscle (it owns 51% of their joint venture, Leapmotor International) and Brampton’s industrial base, Leapmotor could rapidly scale in North America. For Detroit’s Big Three and even Japanese and Korean competitors, that is a genuine pricing and efficiency threat.
While Ottawa is eager to restart the plant, local suppliers and Unifor, the union representing auto workers, are far more cautious. Their concern is not whether cars are built, but how.
If the Brampton deal follows the “knockdown kit” model – importing mostly finished components from China for simple local assembly – the benefit to Canada’s domestic supply chain would be minimal. Hundreds of local parts makers could see the factory lights turn on, yet receive few orders.
As one industry source told Bloomberg: “Chinese knockdown kits may be fine for Brazil, but they aren’t for the hundreds of Canadian auto parts suppliers.”
The union also fears that if technology and supply chain control remain overseas, their future bargaining power over wages, training, and investment will erode.
That is why the Canadian government has been careful to stress that any final deal must include “real manufacturing” and meaningful participation by local suppliers – not just final assembly.
Stellantis itself has confirmed only that it is “actively evaluating future programs for Brampton” and is “in active discussions with government officials and key stakeholders” to ensure conditions for continued investment in Canada.
No final decisions have been made, and the talks remain early-stage. But the Brampton-Leapmotor case is already more than a corporate negotiation. It has become a test case for three larger forces:
For now, everyone is watching Brampton. And more than a few are already bracing for the fallout.
