Stellantis Chairman John Elkann recently visited Washington to meet with President Donald Trump and discuss the group’s future production plans in the United States. An internal company memorandum subsequently revealed important strategic developments: the production of a new mid-size pickup truck, likely under the Ram brand, at the currently inactive Belvidere, Illinois plant, and the decision to locate production of the new Dodge Durango at Stellantis’ Detroit facility, contrary to initial hypotheses that suggested it would be built in Canada.
The new Dodge Durango, contrary to previous beliefs, will be produced in Detroit
This shift comes after a period of tension with the UAW, the auto workers’ union, which had accused Stellantis of wanting to move production outside the United States. After months of complex negotiations, union president Shawn Fain announced reaching an agreement that resolves both issues related to the Dodge Durango production and those concerning the reopening of the Belvidere plant.
“After numerous meetings and discussions with the company over the past few months, last night we finally managed to reach an agreement satisfactory to both parties,” Fain stated in an internal communication to workers, as reported by Crain’s Chicago Business.
The situation required in-depth discussions between all involved parties. When questioned about the matter, Stellantis preferred to maintain confidentiality regarding the details of future plans concerning both the new pickup truck and the next generation Dodge Durango, with the company spokesperson declining any comment on the matter.