“I’ve heard it’s an astronomical amount of money. I’d be shocked if they turned it down,” he said. “But I think at the end of the day, if they don’t accept it, in my mind, that tells me they don’t want to do business in Illinois. I believe the company is going to use this for leverage to try to get something at contract time.”
The automaker declined to comment to AN regarding the negotiations with the state. Like every automaker, Stellantis is investing heavily in EVs and batteries. It aims to launch over 75 BEVs globally by 2030 along with a battery supply chain, which will require four battery plants in North America.
Jeep will launch its first pure EV, the Recon, next year. It currently sells the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrids, with more to come. In the meantime, Belvidere employees are hoping for the best.
