The United Automobile Workers union has been pressing the automaker, which owns Chrysler and Jeep, to revive the plant in Belvidere, Ill.

The UAW believed the company was going back on its plant investment commitments. Now, as Trump takes office, the automaker has renewed its U.S. plans.

John Elkann, chairman of Jeep-maker Stellantis, wasted no time reassuring President Trump of the global automaker’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing. The scion of Italy’s famous Agnelli family met with Trump last week to emphasize the company’s support for American workers.

Big Three automaker Stellantis is making a number of moves in the US, in response to the new Trump administration and its focus on building products in America.

Saving the Belvidere factory from permanent closure was a key part of a new contract with the United Auto Workers in 2023. Stellantis originally agreed to make an electric truck at Belvidere, create a new EV battery facility and expand its parts-distribution facility into a regional megahub.

A midsize Ram pickup truck, possibly a domestic version of the unibody Ram Rampage, will be built at Stellantis' currently dormant Belvidere, Illinois plant.

There's a void in the midsize truck segment found in Auburn Hills, Michigan these dats. Since the departure of Dodge's Dakota, the FCA-turned-Stellantis chunk of the medium pickup category has been empty, but a leaked memo obtained by Crain’s Chicago Business makes clear that's set to change soon.

Stellantis will also be upgrading its U.S. auto plants across the country — investing $1.2 billion in the Belvidere plant.

Stellantis plans to reopen its Belvidere plant and make investments in U.S. manufacturing, creating jobs and bolstering the economy.

Governor Pritzker pointed to the positive impact the decision will have on the state, saying it will provide good-paying jobs for Illinoisans while bolstering the automotive industry.

Stellantis' Belvidere site has been mothballed since February 2023 after the carmaker temporarily discontinued production of the Jeep Cherokee crossover.