Stellantis promises $13B in US investments

Automaker Stellantis NV, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and operates the former Chrysler automaking facilities in the United States, has announced a $13 billion, four-year U.S. vehicle assembly investment program.

Stellantis says the investments will expand its U.S. production footprint by 50 percent, with the program including five new vehicle launches and 19 product actions that will add some 5,000 new jobs and increase output at assembly plants in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

Automotive assembly plants typically are served by numerous nearby component makers, including metals stamping and machining plants that produce significant flows of recyclable metal. The network of factories also generates steady streams of old corrugated containers and plastic film scrap.

The $13 billion program is Stellantis' largest single investment in the 100-year history of the company and its predecessor firms and brands, which include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

Directly benefiting from the program are assembly facilities in Belvidere, Illinois; Kokomo, Indiana; Warren, Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio.

“This investment in the U.S., the single largest in the company’s history, will drive our growth, strengthen our manufacturing footprint and bring more American jobs to the states we call home,” Stellantis CEO and North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa says. “Accelerating growth in the U.S. has been a top priority since my first day. Success in America is not just good for Stellantis in the U.S.: it makes us stronger everywhere.”

When calculating the $13 billion investment price tag, Stellantis says it included research and development and supplier costs necessary to execute the company’s full product strategy over the next four years, as well as direct investments in its manufacturing operations.

The company provided the following breakdown of investments in the four locations.

In Illinois, Stellantis intends to invest more than $600 million to reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant and expand production of the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Compass for the U.S. market, with the plant’s relaunch expected in 2027 in a move anticipated to create around 3,300 new jobs.

The announcement about the Compass has not been well received in Canada, since production of that vehicle had been planned to take place in Brompton, Ontario.

According to AP News, the move has been noted by Canadian Prime Minister James Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford as tied to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on goods manufactured in Canada.

AP quotes Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly as saying the production shift violates existing agreements between Stellantis and government agencies in Canada.

“Anything short of fulfilling that commitment will be considered as default under our agreements," Joly writes in a letter to Filosa.

In Ohio, an investment of nearly $400 million will result in the assembly of an all-new midsize truck (previously allocated to the Belvidere plant) at the Toledo Assembly Complex, where the new model will join the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator as output. The production shift could create more than 900 jobs, with that launch expected in 2028.

In Michigan, Stellantis plans to develop an all-new range-extended electric vehicle (EV) and internal combustion engine large SUV that will be produced at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant beginning in 2028. The company will invest nearly $100 million to retool the facility and add more than 900 jobs there.

Another $130 million will be invested in the Stellantis Detroit Assembly Complex/Jefferson for production of a next-generation Dodge Durango, with production on that model anticipated to launch in 2029.

In Indiana, the Kokomo plant will be outfitted to produce an all-new four-cylinder engine, known as the GMET4 EVO, beginning in 2026. Stellantis plans to invest more than $100 million and to add more than 100 jobs “to ensure that the U.S. will be the manufacturing home of this strategic powertrain.”