Stellantis promotes opportunities for minority-owned businesses in EV shift
Breana NobleDetroit — The chief operating officer in North America of the maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram trucks on Monday emphasized the opportunities for minority-owned businesses to be a part of the company’s transformation toward electrification.
Stellantis NV’s Mark Stewart said during the Rainbow PUSH Global Automotive Summit that the automaker is in the midst of negotiations for its third electric-vehicle battery plant that could come online in 2026. It likely will be in the United States, he said. With EVs representing 5.5% of U.S. vehicle sales so far this year, according to S&P Global Inc.’s mobility team, the increasing adoption of EVs presents opportunities for suppliers and other business partners and is a chance for the industry to be more representative of the communities it serves.
“Now is the time,” Stewart said at the MotorCity Casino Hotel during the conference held by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson that’s focused on human and civil rights. “Look at Tesla. How many EVs are really sold? We just saw the stat. There’s not that many in the marketplace. The time is still prime to join.”
Stellantis has yet to launch an all-electric vehicle in North America. But it projects more than half of its sales on the continent will be BEVs by 2030. It is investing $35.5 billion into electrification and software by 2025.
Efforts also are around building out supply chains for the critical materials and components of EVs and their batteries in trade-friendly partners of the United States. Currently, many of those networks are based in China. Stellantis has signed agreements to obtain minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt from companies in California, Australia and Germany.
“We don't have as many here in the U.S.,” Stewart said of the critical mineral resources. “And our friends to the north in Canada are very resource rich in that, in a lot of the chemistry that goes with it. Mexico, as well, with lithium and some of the others. So we've got dedicated teams and purchasing that are out making sure we're securing that capacity for our needs. And if things progress as we see, that's why we need that third plant online in ’26.”
Adding to the challenges of the transformation is the need for talent. The summit also recognized Stellantis and the Wayne County Community College District with its benchmark award for a $27 million mechatronics program that will train students in robotics and other skills needed in the industry.
“We can meet the needs of higher ed and workforce development, skill development in all of those supply chain industries,” said CharMaine Hines on behalf of WCCD Chancellor Curtis Ivery. “We take the city and our communities where it needs to go.”
The lab on the college’s eastern campus in Detroit is set to open as early as this month with the program launching in January following pandemic-related delays. Stellantis’ contribution was a part of its community benefits agreement with the city of Detroit and residents for its $2.5 billion investment into its Detroit Assembly Complex.
“This is another great way to nurture the community,” Stewart said, “for the next generation to have folks come in that are going to have awesome jobs in our industry that we struggle so hard to get kids to come into our industry, but for us to do that and do it right here.”
One of the two plants that make up the complex has hired 3,500 Detroiters, Stewart said. In total, the company has hired 8,800 Detroiters at its plants throughout southeast Michigan.
Rainbow PUSH, however, showed with its annual diversity scorecard that Stellantis has work to do in advertising and marketing. It gave the automaker a “yellow” mark in those two of six assessment areas, indicating some evidence of ethnic diversity.
Stewart said Stellantis doesn’t have its own ad agency, but bids out its marketing work.
“The great thing is it gives lots of people opportunities to come and then work with us,” he said, but added that the company’s marketing team “went out, and we’re helping to develop Black-owned marketing agencies, and we’ve had some really good wins this year and some incredible creatives that have come out of it.”
He said the company is committed toward multicultural marketing with African Americans representing a growing portion of the market. He said the company has partnered with Byron Allen, the onetime stand-up comic turned media mogul who has demanded publicly that companies like GM do more business with Black-owned media companies, and several other agencies as well as recent film school graduates.
“We're helping them to develop their career that are Black producers, directors and we're really excited about it,” Stewart said.
The company received a “green” score in the other areas of employment, procurement, dealer development and philanthropy, indicating a demonstration of best practices for ethnic diversity.
Stewart said Stellantis has done $100 billion in business with minority-owned suppliers over the past four years. Across the company itself, more than 35% of its workforce is diverse, along with more than 20% of its leadership team.
"We're making super sure that our pipeline is absolutely filled with diversity suppliers and specifically with African Americans," he said, "because we absolutely are on a fast track to get ourselves to where we are the same as in every community that we live in."
The 2022 scorecard was the first time no major automaker had a red mark, which means diversity initiatives and investments are nonexistent, not disclosed or didn’t have enough relevant information for scoring.
General Motors Co.’s only yellow mark was in employment. Ford Motor Co.’s came in employment and marketing.
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