By Steven Symes 
With consumer demand having waned for EVs for a while now, combined with an incoming administration vowing to end any defacto EV mandates, the US Department of Energy just gave Stellantis $7.54 billion in taxpayer dollars for two battery plants. It’s an interesting decision, especially since Stellantis has been struggling to sell cars lately.
Car thieves are passing on EVs as well.
Those two battery plants, which are going to be run in conjunction with Samsung SDI, will be located in Kokomo, Indiana. The DOE says at least 2,800 jobs will be created by the move, reports Reuters. There’s zero mention in that report of Stellantis laying off assembly line workers as the company is in turmoil, although it does mention former CEO Carlos Tavares stepping down.
Right now really doesn’t seem like a great time to bet on Stellantis. Even though it’s the fourth-largest automaker in the world, things are changing rapidly right now, what with Nissan apparently on death’s doorstep and Volkswagen in full-on retreat mode.
This news also comes after it’s been rumored Dodge is going to release the gas-powered versions of the new Charger Daytona before the electric models, thanks to weak demand.
This $7.54 billion is being loaned to Stellantis and Samsung SDI through their StarPlus Energy LLC, but the deal apparently isn’t finalized. There are several requirements the venture must meet before getting all that cash, although we somehow don’t think proving that people will want the vehicles which will use the batteries is one of them.
Not too long ago, the federal government announced Rivian Automotive is getting a $6.6 billion loan to build its production facility in Georgia. The fact that these EV-related loans are coming in so rapidly right now can’t be coincidence, but we wonder if the deals will even go through as the spending forecast could be changing even more rapidly.
Image via Stellantis