Stellantis to invest $406 million at 3 factories, a step toward meeting commitments in UAW contract
Stellantis will spend $406 million retooling three Michigan factories so they can build electric vehicles or battery parts
DETROIT — Jeep and Ram maker Stellantis will spend $406 million retooling three Michigan factories so they can build electric vehicles or battery parts to support a strategy of making vehicles powered by both gasoline and batteries.
With its investment announcement Wednesday, the company is taking a step toward meeting some commitments that it agreed to in a new contract ratified last fall by the United Auto Workers union after a bitter six-week strike. It's aimed at countering union arguments that Stellantis won't keep commitments and doesn't want to invest in U.S. factories.
An assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, north of Detroit, will get the bulk of the investment, $235.5 million, so it can make the battery-powered Ram 1500 pickup truck that will go into production later this year.
The plant, which has been singled out by CEO Carlos Tavares for criticism due to quality problems, also will make a full-size electric pickup with a range-extending gas-powered generator.
In the union contract, which runs through April of 2028, the company agreed to invest $1.4 billion at the Sterling Heights plant.
Stellantis also said it will sink about $97.6 million into the Warren Truck Plant, also north of Detroit, so it can build electric versions of the Jeep Wagoneer large SUV, one of four Jeep EVs scheduled to be produced globally by the end of next year.
The company promised in the union contract that Warren Truck would get roughly $600 million of investment.
An engine factory in Dundee, Michigan, southwest of Detroit, will get over $73 million so it can assemble, weld and test battery trays for
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