Kokomo City Council approves Stellantis tax abatement

May 9—Stellantis has received a 10-year tax abatement for its most recent investment to its Kokomo plants.

The Kokomo City Council on Monday voted 7-0 to approve the business personal property tax abatement and a memorandum of agreement between the city and Stellantis. Councilman Tony Stewart, R-at large, and Councilman Ray Collins, R-third district, were absent from the meeting. No discussion was had among council members before the vote.

The proposed tax abatement is a 10-year, step down tax abatement, meaning 100% of the new assessed value on the business personal property will be abated in year one. Each year after that will see a 10% decrease in the abated amount until 10% is abated in year 10.

Stellantis announced in February it would invest $155 million across the Kokomo Casting Plant, Kokomo Transmission Plant and Indiana Transmission Plant to partly retool the plants to begin production of electric drive modules (EDMs) for future Stellantis-made battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

The EDMs will be used in Stellantis' battery electric vehicles designed on the STLA Large and STLA Frame platforms, the company said, and are expected to give Stellantis' BEVs a driving range of up to 500 miles.

Specifically, the gearbox cover will be cast at Kokomo Casting and machined at Kokomo Transmission. Gear machining and final assembly will be at the Indiana Transmission Plant. Production is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024.

According to the memorandum of agreement, the investment will retain 262 jobs with cumulative salaries of those 262 employees totaling $17.4 million.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.