Stellantis will reactivate the Belvidere Assembly Plant to build a new generation of the Jeep Cherokee, but customer-bound vehicles will not leave the Illinois factory until the second half of 2029. The new schedule replaces earlier expectations of a 2027 reopening and raises the confirmed investment in the plant from more than $600 million to over $800 million.
Stellantis pushes Belvidere comeback to 2029 as workers wait for promises to become reality
The factory will assemble its first pilot vehicles in the first half of 2028, giving engineers and workers time to validate equipment and production processes before commercial manufacturing begins. Stellantis has already spent more than $60 million on work across the stamping, body, paint and final assembly areas. Once the conversion is complete, Belvidere will operate on two shifts and support several types of powertrains.
The Cherokee that Belvidere will build will differ from the 2026 model that recently reached the US market from Toluca, Mexico. The future SUV will use the STLA One platform and become the first vehicle based on that architecture to enter production in the United States. Stellantis designed STLA One to support combustion engines, hybrid systems and electric powertrains, giving the company greater flexibility to adjust output according to demand.
Stellantis has also assigned at least one additional STLA One model to the plant, although the company has not revealed its identity. The plan announced in October 2025 also included the Jeep Compass, which remains the most likely candidate, but the latest update does not explicitly confirm it. Stellantis has therefore not publicly established the plant’s final annual capacity or workforce level.
Workers remain cautious after the repeated changes that followed the plant’s shutdown in February 2023. The agreement with the UAW originally called for a midsize pickup starting in 2027, along with a battery plant and a major parts distribution center. Stellantis later moved the pickup program to Toledo and removed the other two projects from the plan before identifying the Cherokee and Compass as replacements.
The funded work now underway represents more tangible progress than earlier promises, but full commercial production still remains three years away. Former employees and the wider Belvidere community will judge the plan by whether Stellantis hits its 2028 milestones and gradually brings workers back to prepare the production lines.
