NEW YORK, Oct 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Jeep-maker Stellantis announced Tuesday plans to invest $13 billion in US plants over the next four years, adding more than 5,000 jobs in Michigan and other midwestern states.

The plans, which the company said represent its largest US investment push in its 100-year history, include the reopening of a factory in Belvidere, Illinois, whose fate has been a source of tension between the company and the United Auto Workers since the plant closed in 2023.

Stellantis will invest $600 million to reopen Belvidere to expand production of the Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Compass, with initial production expected to launch in 2027.

The other investments add new models to existing Stellantis factories in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. The vehicles listed in the plans include several internal combustion engine autos.

US emissions rules under former president Joe Biden had encouraged investments in electric vehicles as part of a move to address climate change.

But President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending legislation, approved in July, removed the penalties for not respecting the so-called CAFE fuel economy targets, meaning automakers can produce and sell more higher polluting cars in the United States.

Stellantis's plans are also designed to boost the company's US volumes at a time when Trump has been enacting tariffs on imported autos and parts.

"This investment in the US -- the single largest in the Company's history -- will drive our growth, strengthen our manufacturing footprint and bring more American jobs to the states we call home," said Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa.

"Accelerating growth in the US has been a top priority since my first day."