Ontario to give Chrysler $85 million to expand Windsor minivan plant: report

The Ontario government will provide more than $85 million to Fiat Chrysler for an expansion of the automaker’s minivan assembly plant in Windsor, Ont.

According to a Canadian Press news story, the provincial investment will “safeguard” the Windsor assembly plant, where Chrysler added 1,200 new jobs on top of 4,000 existing positions to help produce the new Pacifica minivan.

The Canadian Press story cited sources that said the funds will be used to upgrade the assembly plant and to help finance a project at the Fiat Chrysler Automotive Research and Development Centre in Windsor.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is expected to make the grant announcement at Chrysler in Windsor on June 15, before crossing into Detroit to meet with Ford Motor Co. executive vice president Joseph Hinrichs and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

The eight-passenger Chrysler Pacifica minivan produced in Windsor will be available in two plug-in hybrid electric models that the sources said align with the government’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change.