Belvidere, IL Chrysler Plant To Close

[eolesen]

Let us hope that the sudden "disinterest" in EV's does not mean Chrysler is out of options for future use of the Belvidere facility.

I don't know that you can claim "disinterest" if there wasn't real "interest" to begin with... Pure electrics have always been more of a novelty item more than a serious consumer demand driven product. Toyota still won't build one, which says a lot since they're the second largest auto manufacturer...

There were two components to the expansion at Belvidere -- the battery plant and a parts distribution center. I'd think the latter will still go forward, as they wanted to consolidate from some smaller DC's into more of an Amazon model with mega-DC's. I'd think rail would still fit that model well.

As for the battery plant.... Chrysler was always the weakest of the Big Three in the US, and they're now #5 or #6 depending on the month.. GM, Toyota, Ford, and Kia/Hundai make up the top four, and then Honda and Stellantis have flipped back and forth. If you take Ram trucks out of the equation, Honda is the solid #5.

I'd think plans for a battery plant from any other manufacturers should be looked at with some skepticism, but maybe Stellantis will be the exception. They think they can make money on the market where nobody else seems to be able to.