Stellantis adds a Kokomo engine line in the middle of its US investment push

For US buyers, the direction is clear: more metal built at Belvidere and a cheaper lineup. Nine of 11 planned North American vehicles start under $40,000. For Canadian workers, the same shift is the bill. The Compass work meant to keep Brampton running now sits in Illinois. Roughly 2,200 laid-off Brampton workers are waiting on a defence supplier's offer for the idled plant.

What Stellantis promised in the US

Antonio Filosa was preparing about $10bn of American manufacturing investment, Automotive Manufacturing Solutions reported on 6 October 2025. Roughly $5bn of that was fresh capital, on top of a similar sum earmarked earlier.

Nine days later, the figure had grown. Stellantis told UAW officials at a meeting on 14 October 2025 that it would make a historic investment in US plants. That came after months of union pressure and auto tariffs. The company called it the largest US investment push in its 100-year history: $13bn creating 5,000 jobs across the Midwest, The Guardian reported on 15 October 2025. The two accounts do not match.

Belvidere is the concrete part. The Illinois plant is to restore about 1,500 jobs building a new midsize pickup. It is due to reopen by 2027.

Stellantis has confirmed the next-generation Jeep Cherokee will be the first US vehicle on STLA One, its new global modular platform. It will be assembled at Belvidere. The plant lies about 60 miles west of Chicago. It will build at least two vehicles on the architecture, across two shifts and all powertrain variants.

The bill in Brampton

Brampton closed for retooling in 2023. Stellantis paused that work in 2025 and moved planned Compass production to Illinois after US tariffs changed the economics of Canadian production.

Unifor says the company backed away in October 2025 from an earlier commitment to invest in Jeep production at the Ontario site. It then told the union it was considering selling it. Stellantis has signed a memorandum of understanding with Roshel, a defence-industry supplier that wants to buy the plant. Roshel plans a defence-manufacturing centre there and has offered letters giving laid-off Unifor workers first consideration for jobs. Contract talks broke down after 10 days of bargaining, with Brampton the central obstacle, the Wall Street Journal reported on 11 September 2026.

The political reaction was immediate last October. Lana Payne, Unifor's national president, said Canadian auto jobs were being sacrificed on the Trump altar. Ontario premier Doug Ford called the decision painful for workers. He urged Carney to stand up for the 157,000 workers in Ontario's auto sector. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the move was a direct consequence of current US tariffs.

Stellantis said it remains committed to Canada and would share plans for Brampton after further discussions with the Canadian government.

Why the money moved

Reshoring auto jobs has been a central plank of Trump's trade policy. Canada has been partly spared through the existing North American trade pact, but the levies in place have created uncertainty for Canadian autoworkers.

The company's own finances pushed as hard as the tariffs. Stellantis posted a $26.3bn net loss for 2025. It is targeting €6bn in structural cost reductions by 2028, with 40% of that by 2027, according to a Seeking Alpha analysis published on 3 November 2026. Under Carlos Tavares, the previous chief executive, Stellantis moved production and engineering to lower-cost jurisdictions such as Mexico. It directed capital to Europe. That bet soured as European demand weakened and overcapacity grew, worsened by an influx of Chinese vehicles.

What the US money buys

FaSTLAne 2030, presented in May 2026, puts more than €24bn into platforms, powertrains and new vehicle technology. That is about 40% of roughly €60bn in research and capital spending through 2030.

North America gets 11 new vehicles, nine of them starting under $40,000 and two under $30,000. Chrysler takes three new crossovers: the Airflow at under $40,000, and the Arrow and Arrow Cross at $25,000 to $35,000. STLA One folds five existing platforms into one architecture. The target is 20% better cost efficiency than the platforms it replaces. Stellantis expects it to underpin more than 30 models and top 2m units a year by 2035. STLA One is one of three global platforms Stellantis expects to carry half its volume by 2030. Stellantis expects up to 70% component reuse across them.

Belvidere's preparation budget has grown from $600m, committed when its role was confirmed in October 2025, to more than $800m.

What happens next

Belvidere is due to reopen by 2027, the year STLA One launches. No sale of Brampton has been announced. Roshel has expressed interest. Stellantis has said only that it will share plans after further talks with the Canadian government.