Stellantis Confirms New Midsize Pickup, Next-Gen Dodge Durango
Stellantis this week committed to reopen the Belvidere, Illinois assembly plant and build a new midsize pickup starting in 2027, the United Auto Workers (UAW) confirmed in a press release on Wednesday. The plan, which was initially announced in November 2023 then walked back last summer, is good to go.
While the Jeep Gladiator is manufactured in Ohio, the future model to come out of Illinois will be the Ram midsize truck that consumers and dealers have been asking for since the discontinuation of the Ram Dakota in 2011.
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The plant was shut down in March 2023 when production of the Jeep Cherokee ended. Some 1,500 UAW-affiliated workers will return to build the new midsize pickup, the details of which are sorely lacking at this stage. What we can tell you is that it likely won’t be electrified.
At the same time, Stellantis has confirmed that the Dodge Durango will get a new generation and continue to be made in Detroit alongside the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Timing remains unspecified, however.
Last September, AutoForecast Solutions reported that the Durango would end production in the summer of 2027 and be replaced by a new, smaller SUV to be built in Windsor, Ontario, prompting unionized workers to rally and file grievances.
According to the UAW, this week’s commitments were made possible by the resignation of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares several weeks ago and new leadership stepping in including North American COO Antonio Filosa (Jeep), who has expressed a desire to work with the UAW to build vehicles in the U.S.
