Ram midsize truck confirmed for 2027

• A successor to the Dakota should begin production by 2027, 16 years after the Dakota was discontinued
• The UAW pressured Stellantis to maintain its commitment to the idled Belvidere, Illinois plant
• The plans come as Stellantis has cooled on EV truck production

Stellantis will move ahead with plans to construct a midsize pickup truck—likely for the Ram brand—at its idled assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, in 2027.

First reported by Automotive News, after which confirmed by the UAW in a press release Wednesday, the move will return 1,500 UAW-represented staff to employment and fulfill guarantees made by Stellantis in a 2023 contract with the union. This might be the primary Ram midsize pickup because the Dakota, a carryover model from Dodge that was discontinued in 2011, only one 12 months after the Ram brand launched.

The Belvidere plant employed 5,000 people as recently as 2019, but was right down to 1,350 employees, who were constructing Jeep Cherokees when it was idled in February 2023 in consequence of that crossover’s discontinuation, in response to Automotive News.

Restarting production on the plant was one among several points agreed to by Stellantis in its most up-to-date contract negotiations with the UAW. The unique plan was to fabricate EVs, with support from latest battery plants and a drive-module assembly plant in Indiana. Last summer, the Department of Energy said it might loan Stellantis $334.8 million to fund conversion of the Belvidere plant to EV production.

But Stellantis’ enthusiasm for electric trucks has lost some charge since then. Starting under now-ousted CEO Carlos Tavares, the automaker delayed the launch of the all-electric Ram 1500 REV full-size truck, opting to bring the Ramcharger plug-in hybrid to market first.

More recently, it also cancelled a larger-battery version of the REV good for a claimed 500 miles of range and, in response to Automotive News, executives became increasingly concerned about how the brand new Trump administration would affect EV plans.

Factory employee assembles a Jeep in Belvidere, Illinois

Stellantis reportedly showed a midsize electric truck concept to dealers in 2023, however it’s never been shown publicly. And last summer, the automaker indicated that it would walk back plans to construct a midsize truck at Belvidere on the schedule agreed to within the 2023 union contract, Automotive News notes. That triggered threats of a strike from the UAW in response.

“This victory is a testament to the ability of staff standing together and holding a billion-dollar corporation accountable,” UAW president Shawn Fain said in an announcement.

The midsize truck is one among 4 manufacturing actions confirmed by Stellantis in a memo following meetings earlier this week between chairman John Elkann and President Trump. The others are production of the next-generation Dodge Durango at Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly complex and further investments at its Toledo, Ohio, assembly plant and an engine plant in Kokomo, Indiana.