BYD contacted Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown to explore the possibility of building buses at the Stellantis plant that has remained idle since 2023. The discussion took place about six months ago and does not amount to negotiations to buy the site, but it confirms that the Ontario factory is attracting interest from industrial groups just as its future within Stellantis appears increasingly uncertain.
BYD eyes Stellantis’ idle Brampton plant as uncertainty grows over its future
Brown said preliminary inquiries also came from Leapmotor International and an unidentified Italian manufacturer. He also mentioned Roshel, a Canadian armored-vehicle maker, and Dominion Dynamics, which operates in the drone sector. The possibilities therefore extend well beyond conventional car assembly, although none of the proposals revealed so far would quickly bring the roughly 3,000 affected workers back to the plant.
Unifor said on August 14 that Stellantis is seriously evaluating a sale or closure. The union stressed that it has not received a formal closure notice, which the contract requires at least one year in advance, but confirmed that Stellantis has opened discussions with another company over a possible sale. The automaker idled the plant in December 2023 for retooling and originally planned to build the new Jeep Compass there before moving that program to the United States.
Chinese interest carries added significance after Canada changed its trade policy. On March 1, 2026, Ottawa replaced the 100 percent surcharge on Chinese-built EVs with an initial quota of 49,000 vehicles subject to the standard 6.1 percent tariff. The permitted volume will increase by 6.5 percent each year, creating more favorable conditions for Chinese automakers to enter the market and potentially invest in local production.
Brampton still sits within a North American supply chain heavily influenced by trade relations with Washington. Since April 2025, the United States has applied a 25 percent tariff to the portion of Canadian-built vehicles that fails to meet USMCA rules. Any future buyer would therefore need to decide whether to focus production on Canada, export vehicles or completely repurpose the factory while accounting for costs and rules of origin.
BYD has not announced an investment or submitted a public offer for the plant. Brown’s account only shows that Brampton still has the infrastructure and industrial assets needed to attract potential operators.
The factory’s future will ultimately depend on whether one of these preliminary discussions develops into a funded industrial plan with a defined product, clear investment commitments and a credible timeline for restarting operations.
