The president of Stellantis Canada is confident the company will add a third shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant at some point in 2025.
Jeff Hines says a lot of it is very demand driven, but they're very confident that between the launch of the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona and the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, they're going to have a lot of demand not just in Canada but across the U.S. as well.
"We'll make that decision here soon once we get the vehicle launched, but we're confident we can get a third shift there at some point in 2025," he says.
He made the comments to the media after speaking at the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting.
Hines says they want to launch the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona, which should be in dealerships in the next 30 to 45 days.
"We want to get the vehicle to the dealership, get the vehicle into customers hands, and then we expect the industry in total for this product, as well as the Pacifica, to be really strong in 2025. So we're excited about what a third shift opportunity could bring," he says.
Hines told the audience at the meeting that electrification is here to stay. But he also noted that infrastructure is needed.
"I think first off, we need federal support and provincial support and in the end, when a customer buys an electrified product they feel really comfortable that they can do what they want, how they want, for whatever needs that customer might have, they just got to be able to do it carefree and worry free.)
Hines adds there's a market for a lot of fully electric products, and they are 100 per cent believers that long-term electrification is going to be a big part of the market.
