EVs take a backseat in Stellantis’ $13B US investment plan

Stellantis, the worldwide automaker that owns Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram, mentioned it can make investments $13 billion to beef up its U.S. manufacturing over the subsequent 4 years as a part of a broader revival plan directed by its new CEO.

5 new autos might be developed and produced via 2029 as a part of the funding into factories in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. The funding may also assist the manufacturing of a brand new four-cylinder engine and reopen the Belvidere Meeting Plant in Illinois, which is able to enable the automaker to increase manufacturing of the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Compass for the U.S. market. In all, greater than 5,000 jobs might be created.

Not like earlier multibillion-dollar funding pledges, nonetheless, this one doesn’t give attention to electrification.

One of many 5 new autos might be a range-extended EV — a automobile that mixes a battery with a fuel generator for extra vary — produced on the Warren Truck Meeting Plant in Michigan starting in 2028. The automaker additionally plans to supply a big, new, gas-powered SUV on the Warren plant.

The remaining merchandise embody a next-generation Dodge Durango that might be produced on the Detroit Meeting Complicated in 2029, a brand new midsize truck that might be assembled at its Toledo Meeting Complicated in Ohio, and an all-new four-cylinder engine referred to as the GMET4 EVO that may go into manufacturing starting in 2026 at its Kokomo, Indiana, manufacturing facility.

Stellantis CEO and North America COO Antonio Filosa mentioned the funding will drive the automaker’s progress, strengthen its manufacturing footprint, and “deliver extra American jobs to the states we name residence.”

“Accelerating progress within the U.S. has been a high precedence since my first day. Success in America isn’t just good for Stellantis within the U.S. — it makes us stronger all over the place,” Filosa mentioned in a press release.

Stellantis has scaled again its electrification plans for the U.S. market prior to now yr. The automaker mentioned in September it might not embody an electrified Gladiator in its Jeep lineup because it reassessed its product technique. Earlier that month, the automaker mentioned it canceled plans to supply a battery-electric full-size pickup. Nonetheless, Stellantis mentioned it nonetheless deliberate to supply an extended-range Ram 1500 REV, previously referred to as the Ramcharger.