Stellantis plans to invest $406 million in three Michigan facilities to support its multi-energy strategy, according to a Wednesday press release.
As a part of the investment, the automaker’s Sterling Heights Assembly Plant will be its first U.S. factory to manufacture a fully electric vehicle, the Ram 1500 REV. The plant — which has already been outfitted with BEV-specific installations — will also build the extended-range 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger alongside internal combustion engine models.
The Warren Truck Assembly Plant and the Dundee Engine Plant will also be retooled as a part of the electrification initiative.
In Warren, Stellantis will manufacture an electrified Jeep Wagoneer, one of four Jeep EVs that will be launched globally before the end of 2025, the release states. Electrified models will be built on the same line as ICE versions of the Jeep Wagoneer and Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
Meanwhile, the Dundee Engine Plant will be retooled to assemble, weld and test battery trays for the STLA Frame architecture and to machine the front and rear beams for the STLA Large architecture, the release said, with production beginning in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
Stellantis’ Michigan investments comes roughly two months after the Department of Energy awarded the company $585 million to convert an assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and its Kokomo, Indiana, transmission plant, for EV production.
In the release, Stellantis said the Michigan plant upgrades will “significantly contribute” to its 50-billion-euro Dare Forward 2030 plan, in which the company aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2038. The automaker’s multi-energy approach will enable it to embrace a wide variety of electrification adoption scenarios.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the Sterling Heights plant has performed an “incredible transformation in record time” as it prepares to produce the Ram 1500 REV that’s expected to launch later this year.
“Gearing up to build our first-ever Ram electric truck and the range-extended version in Michigan is a meaningful moment of pride for our teams,” he said in the release. “With these investments supporting both Jeep and Ram, we’re adding innovations to our Michigan manufacturing footprint to support a multi-energy approach that is laser-focused on customer demand.”
