Stellantis Reduces Capacity at US Plants, New Mexico Pickup Truck Plant Expected for Commissioning

According to foreign media reports, production activities at Stellantis' pickup truck assembly plant in Warren, Michigan, US, have been significantly reduced recently. As the automaker prepares to launch production of the Ram 1500 pickup truck in Mexico, concerns have arisen within the industry about the future of this Stellantis plant in Michigan, US, and its workers.

Data shows that this year, the number of cars expected to be produced at this Stellantis plant, which spans 3.3 million square feet and is located at the junction of Warren and Detroit, is projected to fall below 46,000 units. This is roughly half of the plant's production in 2024, a 90-year-old facility, and represents a 90% decline from its peak in 2017. The Warren pickup truck plant has been shut down until May 12, with workers previously responsible for producing the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models, which have shown weak market performance.

The sluggish production at the Warren plant is also largely attributed to poor sales of its products. While full-size SUV models from Ford and General Motors are considered "cash cows" for their companies, the sales of the Wagoneers series produced by Stellantis at the Warren plant have been disappointing, despite the new Jeep CEO's commitment to revitalize the brand.

At the end of 2024, Stellantis ceased production of the popular Ram 1500 Classic pickup truck at this plant, resulting in 1,100 layoffs and a reduction in supplier orders.

It is known that pickup truck models are the lifeblood of Detroit's Big Three automakers and their numerous parts suppliers, providing stable production volumes and long-term operational guarantees for production plants. Consequently, losses in capacity like the shutdown of the Warren pickup truck plant will have a significant impact.

In September 2024, Stellantis announced an investment of $97.6 million in the Warren plant to produce the "future electric version of the Jeep Wagoneer." Currently, the all-electric Wagoneer S model is produced at the automaker's plant in Toluca, Mexico.

At present, the progress of the EV production plan at the Warren plant remains unclear. Following Trump's election, the already sluggish EV market faces even more uncertain prospects.

Meanwhile, the group has expanded a plant in Saltillo, Mexico, to produce the new Ram 1500 DT pickup truck, one of Stellantis' profitable models. This pickup truck is also produced at Stellantis' Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in the suburbs of Detroit, US. After Stellantis reached a record labor contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW) in 2023, the company decided to transfer some of the surplus capacity at the Sterling Heights plant to lower-cost Mexico for production, a decision that has drawn dissatisfaction from the union.

Now, just as President Trump imposes a 25% tariff on cars imported into the US, Stellantis' pickup truck factory in Mexico is about to commence commissioning, undoubtedly adding uncertainty to the factory's future.

According to sources, although Stellantis has not canceled its plan to produce Ram pickup trucks at its Saltillo factory in Mexico due to tariff impacts, it has reduced production. Stellantis aims to produce 86,000 vehicles at the new factory this year. However, it is currently unclear how many of these vehicles will be imported into the US market.

It is worth noting that this factory, located approximately 200 miles from the US border, has an annual capacity of 200,000 light-duty pickup trucks.

Sources said that Stellantis has postponed the commissioning time of its Mexico factory from early March to late May. The delay is due to the factory construction not being completed. It is expected that production will only be a few hundred units in the initial months before increasing this summer.