The Ram Rampage from Brazil, and the Ram 1200 (above) could influence a future U.S. midsize Ram pickup — but those models will not be brought to the States.
Stellantis will reopen a now-shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, the company’s U.S. chief operating officer told employees in an e-mail. The factory will produce a new midsize Ram pickup, however, rather than the EV originally planned for the facility. The move should help the automaker avoid a strike by the UAW, observers told Headlight.News.
The assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois closed by Stellantis in February 2023 will resume operations in 2027 building a new midsize pickup for the automaker’s Ram brand, according to an e-mail sent by the automaker to employees and subsequent comments by the United Auto Workers Union.
The move will help fill a big gap in the Ram brand’s line-up and, according to an e-mail from North American Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa, it will put “approximately 1,500 UAW-represented” employees back to work.
The move could also improve relations with the UAW which had won approval from workers at several locations to call a strike over the delay in reopening Belvidere and other issues. The automaker has been making efforts to improve relations with the union following the unexpected resignation by global CEO Carlos Tavares last November.
“Strengthening our U.S. manufacturing footprint”
The Belvidere Assembly Plant was closed in February 2023. The UAW’s current contract calls on Stellantis to reopen the factory.
The announcement comes a week after Stellantis Chairman John Elkann met with then President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. The 47th president has indicated plans to impose tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, including those produced in Canada and Mexico, two of the country’s longest-running trade partners.
Automakers have warned that could disrupt a well-oiled global manufacturing system, potentially leading to higher prices and even shortages of some popular products. But they’ve also been seeking a compromise with the new administration that could see at least some foreign-based production moved to the U.S.
“John (Elkann) told the President that building on our proud, more than 100-year history in the U.S., we plan to continue that legacy by further strengthening our U.S. manufacturing footprint and providing stability for our great American workforce,” Filosa said in the letter to Stellantis employees.
“Our plans, focused on increasing market share and growing sales volume, entail a multibillion-dollar investment in our people, great products, and innovative technology, all here in the U.S. Today we can confirm a number of specific actions in the roll-out of that plan.”
Currently, Stellantis sells only one midsize pickup in the U.S., the Jeep Gladiator.
What’s in the plan
The most significant move, from what Stellantis has so far revealed, calls for the Belvidere Assembly Plant to reopen in 2027. But there will be some big changes from what the automaker originally said it would do as part of its settlement with the UAW in 2023.
For one thing, it will produce a new midsize pickup for Ram, something the brand had been considering for more than a decade. Just last week, Tim Kuniskis – who recently came out of retirement to head Ram – told Road & Track “We’re a truck brand and we don’t have a compact, we don’t have a midsize. Kinda disingenuous to call me a truck brand, isn’t it? So yeah, I need that. I want that, I need that.”
The news was well-received by industry watchers. With the slower growth of the EV market, adding a full battery-electric plant might have been too much to handle right now. On the other hand, “It’s important (for Ram) to have a midsize pickup to compete,” said Erin Keating, the executive analyst with Cox Automotive.
Stellantis has lost business to competitors like Ford – whose Ranger was this month named North American Truck of the Year.
Stellantis does have one midsize truck in its line-up, the modest-selling Jeep Gladiator. But it lags well behind rivals such as General Motors, with its Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the recently redesigned Toyota Tacoma, and the Ford Ranger which was this month named North American Truck of the Year.
More Stellantis News
- Ram Needs a Midsize to Be a Real Truck Brand, Says Kuniskis
- Ram Emphasizes Electric Power with Ramcharger Pickup
- Ram Ends 1500 Classic Production, Long-Running Truck Was Value Focused Alternative
Keating called the announcement “important for the UAW relationship.” After reaching agreement on a new national labor agreement in autumn 2023 things seemed to be on the right course. But the relationship soon soured. For one thing, union President Shawn Fain accused Stellantis of going back on its promise to reopen Belvidere as an EV plant.
UAW President Shawn Fain hailed the Belvidere news as a union victory.
The union has held strike authorization votes at several key plants over that and other issues – but it seemed to slow down such a move in the wake of Tavares’ sudden departure, sources telling Headlight.News UAW officials were waiting to see what would happen next. The naming of a successor as global CEO could still be months away, Stellantis has indicated. But Filosa – who was named North American COO shortly before Tavares resigned – has quietly signaled a desire to find common ground.
Whether this will head off a confrontation is uncertain, however. For one thing, the original plan called for Belvidere not only to be converted into an EV facility but with a separate battery plant erected nearby. And employment was forecast to reach 5,000 hourly workers.
Nonetheless, the union is billing the news as a victory.
“This victory is a testament to the power of workers standing together and holding a billion-dollar corporation accountable,” Fain said in a statement on Wednesday. “We’ve shown that we will do what it takes to protect the good union jobs that are the lifeblood of places like Belvidere, Detroit, Kokomo and beyond.”
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