An internal memo reveals future investments in Stellantis' US plants, discussed during John Elkann's recent meeting with Donald Trump

Stellantis’s Belvidere site has been mothballed since February 2023 after the carmaker temporarily discontinued production of the Jeep Cherokee crossover.

The UAW believed the company was going back on its plant investment commitments. Now, as Trump takes office, the automaker has renewed its U.S. plans.

Automaker Stellantis plans to reopen an assembly plant in Illinois and build the next generation Dodge Durango in Detroit, the automaker said Wednesday. In an email to employees North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa confirmed that the plant in Belvidere,

The next-generation Dodge Durango looks to be back on.

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 United Automobile Workers union has been pressing the automaker, which owns Chrysler and Jeep, to revive the plant in Belvidere, Ill.

Big Three automaker Stellantis is making a number of moves in the US, in response to the new Trump administration and its focus on building products in America.

The news, announced in a letter to employees from North America Chief Operating Officer Antonio Filosa on Wednesday, also provided some good news to workers in Detroit, where the next generation Dodge Durango will be built and those in Toledo, Ohio, and Kokomo, Indiana, where investments are planned.

Stellantis will also reopen its shuttered Belvidere plant in Illinois and invest in its Kokomo engine plant in Indiana.

The Stellantis Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois, on Sept. 19, 2023. A top Stellantis NV executive told employees Wednesday that the automaker will build a midsize pickup truck at the currently closed assembly plant. (Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS)