WINDSOR, ON — In a definitive move to de-risk its balance sheet, Stellantis announced Friday that it is selling its 49% stake in the NextStar Energy battery plant to partner LG Energy Solution (LGES). The deal hands LGES full ownership of Canada’s first mega-scale battery facility as the automaker retreats from direct manufacturing in a cooling EV market.
A Strategic Exit, Not a Withdrawal
The $5-billion Windsor facility, originally designed to be the heartbeat of Stellantis’s North American EV fleet, has undergone a radical transformation. By offloading its equity, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa described the move as a “smart, strategic step” that allows the company to secure battery supply through a customer agreement while avoiding the capital intensity of plant ownership.
“We are strengthening the plant’s long-term viability by enabling LG to fully leverage its capacity for a broader customer base,” Filosa stated.
The Shift to Grid Storage and AI
Under sole LGES ownership, the plant is expected to move even faster into the Energy Storage System (ESS) market. With EV adoption lagging, LGES plans to use the Windsor hub to supply the burgeoning demand for large-scale batteries used in AI data centers and power grids. LGES CEO David Kim noted that full ownership allows for “greater agility” in responding to these non-automotive sectors.
Impact on Windsor and the Workforce
The news was met with cautious optimism in Windsor. Unifor, which represents 800 of the plant’s current 1,300 workers, commended LGES for its “versatility in pivoting” to maintain production. The long-term goal remains a workforce of 2,500 employees, and the existing collective agreement—set to expire in July 2026—remains in force.
The Global Context
This restructuring coincides with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new “National Automotive Strategy,” which scrapped federal EV mandates in favor of infrastructure and productivity. For Stellantis, the exit is part of a broader “reset” that includes cancelling several plug-in hybrid and electric models to align with “real-world buyer needs.”
