(KOKOMO, Ind.) – Chrysler’s parent company is pouring nearly a quarter-billion dollars into its three plants in Kokomo, to stake its claim in the electric vehicle market.
Stellantis will retool the factory floor and retrain workers at its Kokomo casting and transmission plants, to manufacture a new, fourth-generation transmission. The automaker describes it as “the multi-tool of transmissions,” able to work with internal combustion engines, mild hybrids or plug-in hybrids. The transmissions will power hybrid-model Jeeps, Rams, Chryslers and Dodges.
Vice president Kevin Clark says the upgrade positions Stellantis to increase fuel economy and keep up with rising emissions standards.
The transmission is part of a $35 billion global plan Stellantis announced this summer to upgrade its commitment to electric vehicles, with a goal of capturing 40% of the U.S. market by 2030.
Governor Holcomb says the investment in the Kokomo plants continues a century-old automotive tradition in Indiana, and positions the state to stay on the industry’s leading edge.
Nearly 700 of Stellantis’s 7,300 Indiana workers will be assigned to the new transmission.
