Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is investing big in its manufacturing operations – but mainly when it comes to trucks. A couple of weeks ago, it announced a billion-dollar investment in its plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Belvidere, Illinois, in order “to support the future growth of the Jeep brand.” Now it’s investing even more in its Ram truck production facilities.
The latest investment will see the company pouring $1.48 billion into its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan. The location currently handles production of the Chrysler 200, but as with the Dodge Dart that was produced alongside the Jeeps in Bevidere, the sedan is being phased out. In its place, Sterling Heights is being retooled to produce the next-generation Ram 1500.
What that means for the Warren Truck Assembly Plant where the Ram pickups are currently built, we don’t know at this point. Chrysler opened the Warren plant in 1938, and has focused on truck assembly there ever since, alongside the adjacent metal-stamping facility that opened in 1949.
Shifting pickup assembly out of Warren could pave the way for a future large SUV, a smaller pickup, or local assembly of work vans like the ProMaster and ProMaster City.
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