Stellantis plans an investment of over 5 billion US dollars in its US production facilities. This comes a few days after company head John Elkann met with the new US President Donald Trump.
In an internal email obtained by the Financial Times, Antonio Filosa, head of Stellantis' US business, stated that the investments would be distributed across several of the group's plants in the USA. Elkann assured Trump of strengthening US manufacturing capacities and thus securing the jobs of the "great American workforce.
The focus is particularly on the plant in Belvidere, Illinois, where $1.2 billion is to be invested and a new medium-sized pickup model is to be produced in the future. According to a statement by Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, 1,500 new jobs will be created there. The company is also investing in plants in Detroit (Michigan), Toledo (Ohio), and Kokomo (Indiana), where various models of the Dodge and Jeep brands and vehicle engines are manufactured.
With the planned investment, Stellantis joins a growing list of automakers trying to strengthen their position in the U.S. market under Trump. The President threatens with global tariffs that could massively impact existing supply chains – a challenge that European automakers like Stellantis, Volkswagen, and Volvo must face.
The president of the United Auto Workers union, Shawn Fain, welcomed the investments, describing them as the result of a hard-fought battle by the workforce for previously withdrawn commitments by former CEO Carlos Tavares. "This is a testament to the power of workers coming together and holding billion-dollar corporations accountable," Fain stated.
Stellantis pursues a flexible approach with its new platform strategy: By producing vehicles with combustion engines, hybrid, and electric drives within the same factories, the company can quickly respond to political changes. Nevertheless, the company remains vulnerable due to potential US tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico - around 40 percent of Stellantis vehicles sold in the US are manufactured there.
The company had come under pressure recently. After a profit warning in September and a 50 percent drop in share price since March last year, CEO Tavares stepped down in December. Elkann has held talks with the governments in Italy and France as well as the European Commission in recent weeks to improve relations with key stakeholders.
In addition to US plans, Stellantis recently announced investments of 2 billion euros in Italy to increase production there.
