In a dramatic turnabout that defuses months of wrangling with the UAW, Stellantis says it will restart its idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and build the next-generation Dodge Durango in Detroit.
Stellantis will move ahead with plans to build a midsize pickup truck—likely for the Ram brand—at its idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, in 2027.
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann revealed a series of significant U.S. investment plans during a meeting with President Donald Trump.
The UAW believed the company was going back on its plant investment commitments. Now, as Trump takes office, the automaker has renewed its U.S. plans.
Stellantis announced it will reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and launch production of a new midsize truck.
Automaker Stellantis plans to produce a new midsize pickup truck at the assembly plant near Rockford. The move will put about 1,500 UAW-represented employees back to work.
Stellantis will also reopen its shuttered Belvidere plant in Illinois and invest in its Kokomo engine plant in Indiana.
The news, announced in a letter to employees from North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa on Wednesday, also provided some good news to workers in Detroit, where the next generation Dodge Durango will be built and those in Toledo, Ohio, and Kokomo, Indiana, where investments are planned.
The Stellantis Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois, on Sept. 19, 2023. A top Stellantis NV executive told employees Wednesday that the automaker will build a midsize pickup truck at the currently closed assembly plant. (Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS)
Automaker Stellantis plans to reopen an assembly plant in Illinois and build the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit, the automaker said Wednesday. In an email to employees North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa confirmed that the plant in Belvidere,
Stellantis plans to reopen its Belvidere plant and make investments in U.S. manufacturing, creating jobs and bolstering the economy.
Stellantis' pledges included increasing production at the Toledo Machining Plant and reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant, which will restore about 1,500 UAW jobs.