Belvidere Stellantis plant to reopen as part of $5B investment with $334M from feds

Posted on July 12, 2024
Illinois Manufacture Association President and CEO Mark Denzler visited WJBC’s Afternoon Show. (Photo Courtesy: Mark Denzler/X)

By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler and Dodge, plans to reopen a shuttered plant in Illinois after receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from the Biden Administration.

The plant, located in Belvidere, closed last year after Stellantis decided to invest over one hundred million dollars in three plants in Indiana.

Leaders plan to reopen the plant in Belvidere to build electric vehicles.

“The (Stellantis) was one of nine recipients across the country to get some funding to help with that (reopening),” Illinois Manufacturing Association President and CEO Mark Denzler said on the WJBC Afternoon Show.

“Again, we have a strong auto presence in Illinois. There’s a Ford location, and obviously, you have Rivian, and you have Stellantis. But, all the suppliers across the state of Illinois that supply the automotive sector should be doing a dance of joy. When the Stellantis facility opens, in addition to thousands of jobs in the Rockford and Northern Illinois area, it’s going to be a huge benefit for all the suppliers across the state.”

When Stellantis reopens the plant, the company plans to produce electric vehicles and batteries for car manufacturers.

It’s unclear how many employees the company plans to hire when they reopen the plant.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

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