FCA’s Sterling Heights assembly plant is getting a massive overhaul as it prepares to switch from building the Chrysler 200 to the next-generation Ram pickup. And the renovations will reportedly include an on-site test track.
Details are still a bit sketchy at the moment, but Automotive News reports that the testing facility alone with cost $5.8 million. It will likely be used to ensure that the trucks rolling off the line drive properly before being shipped off to dealers, but could be used as well to develop new models.
The company currently operates proving grounds an hour away in Chelsea, Michigan, as well as testing facilities in Florida and Arizona.
Chrysler opened its Sterling Heights plant back in 1953, initially to produce missiles for the US Army. Volkswagen briefly owned (but never used) the location in the early 1980s, converting it for automobile production before selling it back to Chrysler. The America automaker has since used it to produce models such as the Dodge Lancer, Daytona, Stratus, and Avenger, but most recently for the Chrysler 200.
The addition of the test track is just one small part in a renovation plan slated to top $1 billion, including $940 million in new machinery and equipment, and $72 million to improvements to the plant itself. Other elements include $42 million for the paint shop, $8 million for chassis finishing, and $6 million for an additional frame unloading area.
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