Stellantis, the parent company responsible for brands like Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler, is making some big moves in America today. The company announced plans this morning to allocate $13 billion in investments across four States: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, with plans to increase production by 50% and add 5,000 jobs.
Buried in this news is a fascinating piece of data that has us wondering about the fate of Ram’s upcoming mid-size truck, which will compete against pickups like the Ranger, the Colorado, and the Tacoma. That truck was supposed to be built at Stellantis’s Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois. But now, the company says it’ll be built alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator in Toledo, Ohio.
This raises an obvious question: Will Ram’s new mid-sizer be based on Jeep Wrangler bones? Building the trucks at the same assembly complex might suggest so, but Stellantis’s wording is pretty vague:
With an investment of nearly $400 million, assembly of an all-new midsize truck, previously allocated to the Belvidere plant, plans to move to the Toledo Assembly Complex, where it will join the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator. The production shift could create more than 900 jobs. Launch timing is expected in 2028.
The Company also intends to continue with investments in its Toledo operations as previously announced in January. This includes additional technologies and strong product actions for both the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator, and more components critical to production at the Toledo Machining Plant.
That note about the truck coming out in 2028 is particularly important. Back in 2023, leaked Stellantis documents claimed the new Wrangler would come out that same year. That means the Ram and the new Jeep are due to launch at the same time, and now, they’ll be coming from the same assembly plant. So a platform-sharing situation makes some sense.
Ford has been pulling this scheme successfully for years. The Bronco and the Ranger, an off-road SUV and a mid-size pickup truck, are based on the same T6 platform and built at the same Michigan assembly plant.
There’s also that whole report last week from Reuters about the federal government revoking a grant given to Stellantis to retool the Belvidere plant. It’s possible that Stellantis moved production to Toledo because it lost those funds. It’s also possible that Belvidere will soon be at capacity, as Stellantis is now planning to drop $600 million of its own funds to produce the new Cherokee and the Compass at the plant. Previously, the new Cherokee was supposed to only be built in Mexico, while the Compass was set to be built in Canada. Those two foreign plants will still be building Jeeps; this Belvidere activation is just an expansion of production.
It’s equally likely that Stellantis could be building the Ram and the Jeep on totally separate lines without any platform-sharing going on. The Toledo plant has been building the Wrangler since ’93 (and various other Jeeps before that, like the XJ, J-series, CJs, etc.), but the complex has also built vehicles like the Nitro and the last-generation Jeep Cherokee (which moved to Belvidere in 2017). So there’s a lot of flexibility there.
Stellantis declined to share any additional info regarding the mid-sizer’s production plans with me. I followed up to see whether it plans on adding independent front suspension to the upcoming Wrangler, as that would give a lot of insight into whether the two might share a platform, but Jeep declined to share any details.
[Ed Note: This leads to a question: If the Wrangler is going to share a platform with this upcoming Ram mid-size pickup, is the Jeep getting IFS or is the Ram getting a solid front axle? As much as I hate to say it: It makes very little sense to put a solid front axle on any pickup truck (because their off-road limitations are related to geometry; the added articulation barely comes into play unless you jack the truck up 4+ inches), much less a non-Jeep. I deeply hope Jeep doesn’t kill off the solid front axle on the Wrangler, because that remains, in my opinion, the best overall off-road suspension (unless you care about high-speed stuff) despite being insanely antiquated. -DT].
Yet Another Big SUV Is In The Cards
The Ram mid-sizer shakeup is only part of the story here. In Indiana, $100 million has been allocated to its facilities in Kokomo to produce new four-cylinder engines. Then there’s Michigan, which is getting over $200 million from a Stellantis injection that’ll include a new SUV and a new EREV:
Stellantis plans to develop an all-new range-extended EV and internal combustion engine large SUV that will be produced at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant beginning in 2028. The Company will invest nearly $100 million to retool the facility. It is anticipated that the new program will add more than 900 jobs at the plant, which currently assembles the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.
The Company also expects to invest $130 million to prepare the Detroit Assembly Complex – Jefferson for production of the next-generation Dodge Durango, reaffirming its commitment from January. Production is anticipated to launch in 2029.
Conveniently, Stellantis doesn’t mention which brand this new large SUV will be sold under. It sounds like it’ll be based on the Wagoneer, considering it’ll be built at that vehicle’s plant. But whether it ends up as a Dodge, a Chrysler, or a Ram isn’t exactly clear at this point. Theoretically, any of those brands could use such a product.
Top graphic images: Stellantis; Columbia Pictures
The one thing to know about the Toledo Jeep plant is that it is technically two assembly plants that are physically connected. You can walk from one assembly line to the next within the same building.
The Wrangler is produced in the same area, albeit completely redone over time, as it has since 1993. The Gladiator is produced on the other assembly line that was built in 2000 for the launch of the Liberty. The Liberty line was completely redone and converted to a BOF line to support the launch of the Gladiator. Making note of this, the Wrangler will continue to be produced on the same line as usual, but the new Ram will be produced on the same line as the Gladiator.
Another thing to take into consideration is that the next Ram, Gladiator, and Wrangler will be based on STLA Frame. A pretty scalable platform, it is indeed capable of IFS along with solid axle designs. Expect the Jeep to stick with the solid axle, but I’d wager on the Ram employing not just an IFS, but possibly even an IRS too.
Seems like a decent idea for them! It seems like the only markets they have much chance of competing in are very American-centric markets, like muscle cars and body-on-frame stuff, where there isn’t the same Asian product to compete with
I had the exact same thought as Tracy in the ed comment… A solid axle on a midsize truck would be pretty awesome, and undoubtedly position it as an enthusiast option, but they already have the Gladiator… The Dakota is clearly going after a more mainstream audience. I think I would be less surprised if the next gen Wrangler went IFS. It would affect its off road abilities, but 99% of Jeeps don’t go off road…
Stop making up cars.
The amounts of money being invested in these plants blows my little mind. I had to manage budgets during a couple of management jobs, but never in the hundreds of millions/billions. I wish them well.
[Ed Note: This leads to a question: If the Wrangler is going to share a platform with this upcoming Ram mid-size pickup, is the Jeep getting IFS or is the Ram getting a solid front axle?]
Why not both? For years and years and years pickup trucks and SUVs to a lesser extent rolled off the same assembly lines in both IFS and straight axle versions. Sure those IFS trucks were/are 2wd, but then again a lot of 2wd and 4wd trucks/SUVs use the same basic IFS either way, they just leave out the diff and replace the half shafts with a stub axle used to preload and retain the wheel bearings.
You don’t even need completely separate frames if you use a modular frame. Two front frame modules IFS, that can be used for 2wd and 4wd and straight axle. Then some different rear modules to account for different wheel bases and/or bodies that go on top.
I would hope this would be the way they go, but… I just don’t think most Wrangler buyers would notice the difference, so the only ones with solid axles will be custom ordered and that likely won’t make it worth it. I’m expecting the aftermarket to be the answer. I think the best we can realistically hope for is Jeep to leave it easier to get a solid axle under it. Heck, maybe they even sell the axle to you.
It probably means Jeep is going to make the next Wrangler IFS and ruin it.
where it will join the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator.
Mmmm, where it will join the Wrangler as the Gladiator’s replacement, I would think
Imagine a Dakota based Rubicon. A Midsized Power Wagon for $61,000 that competes against the Colorado Z72 and the Ranger Raptor.
How sure are we that this new Ram won’t be replacing the Gladiator? The “strong product actions” could just as easily mean cancellation, with ambiguous language to keep the average shareholder (and potential Gladiator buyer) on-board for now?
The Gladiator was always planned to be just a one gen and one refresh life span.
what? If it had sold well, they obviously would have a second gen in the works
Just going with what Tim Esterdahl said at Pickup Truck Plus SUV Talk has said repeatedly on his channel. YMMV.
Which is why I found that line lumping it with the next Wrangler a little odd.