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Stellantis has finally confirmed a future product for its idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. The company announced that the next-generation Jeep® Cherokee will become the first U.S.-built vehicle based on its new STLA One global architecture.
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Belvidere Will Launch STLA One In America
Investment Climbs To More Than 0 Million
What Happened To The Next Compass?
Could Airflow And GLH Join The Cherokee?
What Does This Mean For The Cherokee (KM)?
A Long-Awaited Restart Still Years Away
The announcement provides some long-awaited clarity for Belvidere and the United Auto Workers (UAW) members who have been waiting for the plant to reopen. However, the timeline is considerably longer than many had hoped. Pilot production is not expected to begin until the first half of 2028, while retail production is currently targeted for the second half of 2029.
That means more than six years could pass between the final Cherokee (KL) rolled off the Belvidere line in February 2023 and the start of regular production for its eventual successor.
Jeep® Cherokee (KL) production at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. (Stellantis).
Belvidere Will Launch STLA One In America
Stellantis introduced STLA One in May as a flexible global platform intended to support more than 30 vehicles by 2035. It is a key part of the automaker’s FaSTLAne 2030 strategic plan and is designed to reduce the number of architectures used across the company.
In plain English, Stellantis wants to build a wider range of vehicles from one basic platform. That should help simplify engineering, reduce production costs, improve manufacturing efficiency, and make it easier to adjust plants as market conditions change.
The next-generation Cherokee will serve as the American launch vehicle for that architecture, with Belvidere becoming the first U.S. plant to assemble a STLA One-based product. Stellantis says the plant will eventually build at least two vehicles using the architecture.
“Launching the next-generation Cherokee on STLA One allows us to deliver a more competitive product while leveraging the strength of our U.S. manufacturing operations,” said Antonio Filosa, Stellantis CEO and North America COO. “Selecting the right product architecture, timing and execution path supports our growth strategy and creates the best long-term outcome and stability for our employees, customers and stakeholders.”
The plant will be configured to produce every planned powertrain variation across two shifts. Stellantis has not provided specific powertrain details for the next Cherokee, but the flexible nature of STLA One suggests that the platform could accommodate several different propulsion systems.
Exterior of the Belvidere Assembly Plant. (Stellantis).
Investment Climbs To More Than $800 Million
Stellantis now expects to invest more than $800 million in Belvidere, an increase of over $200 million from the $600 million announced in October 2025.
Work has already started at the plant. Through July 2026, Stellantis had spent more than $60 million evaluating and upgrading the stamping, body, paint, and general assembly operations. Additional projects are planned through the remainder of the year as the company prepares the facility for its eventual restart.
The announcement comes amid growing concern within UAW ranks about Belvidere’s future. Stellantis previously said the plant would receive both the next-generation Jeep Compass and Cherokee, but little had been publicly discussed about those products since that commitment was made.
The Compass situation has also become increasingly complicated.
Jeep® Compass (J4U) Production in Italy. (Stellantis).
What Happened To The Next Compass?
The next-generation Compass was originally expected to be built at the Brampton Assembly Plant outside Toronto, Ontario. Stellantis paused those plans in February 2025, leaving the future of the Canadian plant and the promised Compass program uncertain.
Since then, Unifor and the Canadian government have continued pushing Stellantis to honor its commitments to Brampton. That dispute may help explain why Stellantis has only confirmed the Cherokee for Belvidere at this point, even though the Illinois plant is expected to assemble at least two STLA One-based vehicles.
The company has not officially announced whether the Compass remains part of the Belvidere plan, will return to Brampton, or could be assigned somewhere else.
STLA One-Based Chrysler Airflow Teased In A Presentation. (Stellantis).
Could Airflow And GLH Join The Cherokee?
The bigger question is what other products Stellantis might build alongside the Cherokee.
Two logical candidates are the upcoming Chrysler Airflow and Dodge GLH, both of which are expected to use the STLA One architecture. Stellantis has not officially confirmed where either vehicle will be produced, but well-placed MoparInsiders sources indicate that Belvidere may be part of the plan.
Sharing one plant would make sense from an operational standpoint. Building several STLA One vehicles at Belvidere would allow Stellantis to spread the cost of reopening and retooling the facility across multiple products. It could also give the company more flexibility to adjust production between Jeep, Dodge, and Chrysler models based on demand.
For now, however, the Cherokee is the only one officially confirmed. Until Stellantis announces production plans for the Airflow and GLH, their potential placement at Belvidere should be treated as an informed possibility rather than a finalized decision.
Jeep® Cherokee (KM) Production at the Toluca Assembly Plant. (Stellantis).
What Does This Mean For The Cherokee (KM)?
The announcement also raises questions about the recently launched Cherokee (KM), which is produced at the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico on the STLA Large architecture.
Launching another Cherokee on a completely different platform might sound unusual, but Stellantis may be preparing to sell both models at the same time. According to our sources, the Toluca-built KM is likely to continue carrying the Cherokee name after the Belvidere model arrives. One source referred to the current vehicle as a potential “Cherokee Classic,” although nothing has been officially announced.
Such a strategy would not be unprecedented. Automakers sometimes continue selling an existing model alongside a newer vehicle when the two products serve different price points, sizes, or market positions. We saw this similar move with the last-generation Ram 1500 (DS).
There is also plenty of time for Stellantis to determine how the two Cherokees would fit together. The Belvidere-built model is still roughly three years away from retail production, and future plans for the KM could change before then.
At this point, Stellantis has not announced an end date for KM production, confirmed the “Cherokee Classic” name, or explained how the STLA Large and STLA One versions would be positioned alongside one another.
The last 2023 Jeep® Cherokee at Belvidere in February 2023. (Dave Syverson).
A Long-Awaited Restart Still Years Away
The new Cherokee gives Belvidere a confirmed product and a path toward reopening, but it does not provide an immediate solution for the plant’s idled workforce.
Stellantis says it will continue supplemental unemployment benefits and healthcare coverage for affected employees. The company also intends to increase those supplemental benefits to reflect wage increases included in the 2023 contract, address future pension credits for laid-off workers, and offer temporary relocation opportunities.
Those commitments will be important because regular Cherokee production remains years away. Pilot vehicles are scheduled to begin moving through the plant during the first half of 2028, but customer-bound production is not targeted until the second half of 2029.
Belvidere will eventually play an important role in Stellantis’ American manufacturing strategy. The automaker plans to invest more than $13 billion in the United States over four years while introducing 11 all-new and 12 refreshed North American vehicles.
The next-generation Cherokee is now officially part of that plan. The remaining questions are what it will look like, which powertrains it will offer, how it will coexist with the Cherokee (KM), and whether the Chrysler Airflow and Dodge GLH will ultimately join it in Belvidere.
Robert S. Miller