Stellantis announced it will reopen the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois and launch production of a new midsize truck.

The efforts of the United Auto Workers bureaucracy to collaborate with Trump, based on their shared "America First" economic nationalism, have accelerated in since the inauguration.

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

There's a void in the midsize truck segment found in Auburn Hills, Michigan these dats. Since the departure of Dodge's Dakota, the FCA-turned-Stellantis chunk of the medium pickup category has been empty, but a leaked memo obtained by Crain’s Chicago Business makes clear that's set to change soon.

Stellantis NV is recommitting to US factory investments agreed to more than a year ago as the maker of Jeep sport utility vehicles seeks the good graces of President Donald Trump.

Among other agreements, Stellantis will reopen the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois in 2027 to produce a new midsize truck.

STLA Large will provide the backbone for future Dodge, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Maserati models. Other Stellantis models are expected to use the platform as well. So far, the new incoming all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S and Jeep Recon EVs utilize STLA Large, along with the inbound Dodge Charger EV.

Stellantis' Belvidere Assembly Plant, was indefinitely idled at the end of February 2023. More than 1,000 people were put out of work.

Saving the Belvidere factory from permanent closure was a key part of a new contract with the United Auto Workers in 2023. Stellantis originally agree to make an electric truck at Belvidere, create a new EV battery facility and expand its parts-distribution facility into a regional megahub.

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.

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 Belvidere factory has been a battleground for the United Auto Workers union since its six-week strike against Detroit's automakers in late 2023. In September 2024, the union filed unfair labor practice charges against the automaker,