Stellantis plans to invest $10 billion into its U.S. operations, including into production plants in Illinois and Michigan, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Stellantis spokespeople did not confirm nor deny the report, instead offering the following statement to the Free Press: “As part of the preparations for the Company’s strategy update and Capital Markets Day next year, the CEO is leading a thorough evaluation of all future investments. This process is ongoing.”
According to the report, which was based on unnamed sources, Stellantis plans to add a $5B investment of fresh funds on top of a previous commitment to spend approximately $5B in the U.S. market.
The investment comes as automakers settle into a shaken-up American auto industry defined by tariffs and pressure from the federal government to produce more vehicles on American soil. Last week, Stellantis — which owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and more — reported its first positive quarter in sales in over two years, turning in a 6% increase.
In the last year, Stellantis has pivoted back to high-powered internal combustion engines like the HEMI V-8 or the Hurricane twin-turbo inline six, taking a step back from its previous vows to electrify many of its offerings. Officials at Dodge, too, have intimated a V-8’s return to the brand’s newly redesigned muscle car, the Charger while announcing that V-8s will come standard on all trim levels of the Dodge Durango.
Bloomberg reported the investment as a move to appease U.S. President Donald Trump, who has shuffled the U.S. auto industry with a frenzied, protectionist tariff plan seeking to revamp the U.S. manufacturing economy. The large investment may curry favor while boosting the company’s production strength in the U.S.
For an international company like Stellantis, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and present in automotive markets from the U.S. to North Africa, Trump’s tariff policies posed a possible roadblock to the brands conquest to become profitable again. In Europe, the company has struggled to compete with European and Chinese automakers, recently announcing a slew of temporary plant closures as vehicles like the Fiat Panda sell slowly.
Stellantis’ newly hired CEO, Antonio Filosa, has repeatedly said he understands the goal of the tariffs and hopes to find a way to succeed under the policy.
Filosa said during a speech in September that Stellantis is engaging in a “very productive exchange of ideas” with the Trump administration regarding tariffs.
“We communicate a lot to them and communication is very productive,” Filosa said at the time, adding that Stellantis, as an international brand with several offices and manufacturing plants in the United States, “can accommodate important industrial moves” compared with international competitors.
According to Bloomberg, the investments are likely to be dedicated to revamping several American production plants, including the Belvidere assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, where Ram has committed to building a mid-size truck. That facility is being retooled to prepare for the new product, while the workforce remains idled.
Under former CEO Carlos Tavares, the idling of the Belvidere assembly plant was one of several issues that drew ire from the United Auto Workers, which represent some 40,000 workers at Stellantis. UAW members rallied and decried the company for idling the 1,500 workers who serve the plant over a year ago.
Liam Rappleye covers Stellantis and the UAW for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him: LRappleye@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stellantis to invest $10B into U.S. operations, manufacturing plants, report says
Reporting by Liam Rappleye, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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