Stellantis Confirms Windsor Plant Will Be Vehicles Based On STLA Large Architecture!

Stellantis North America announced this morning, that vehicles produced on the new STLA Large platform will be built at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It also made the announcement that production of the current L-Series vehicles (Chrysler 300 Series, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Challenger) at the Brampton Assembly Plant in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, Canada will end when retooling begins in 2024. 

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A product announcement for Brampton will be made at a later date, according to the company.

The moves are part of the company’s $3.6 billion CAD ($2.8 billion USD) to support its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan and its long-term electrification strategy to invest $45 billion CAD ($35 billion USD) through 2025 in electrification and software globally.   

“There has been a lot of speculation, and while we’re not prepared to discuss any product details today, we’re happy to confirm that Windsor will produce vehicles on our new STLA Large platform,” said Mark Stewart, Stellantis North America COO. “These announcements represent key pieces of our Dare Forward strategy to provide safe, clean, and affordable mobility solutions for our customers long into the future.

Windsor Assembly Plant – 

In October 2020, we reported that the Windsor Assembly Plant would be updated to produce either an additional plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) product expected to launch in 2024. We predicted at the time it could be either a production version of the popular 2017 Chrysler Portal Concept, a smaller minivan-like vehicle with Level 4 autonomous features, or a production version of the then Chrysler Airflow Vision Concept, a technology buck shown off during the 2020 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

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However, over the past year, our inside sources have indicated that the Windsor Assembly Plant will in fact produce a production version of the Chrysler Airflow (CA), due to arrive in late-2024 as a 2025 model. Our sources have also indicated that the plant will begin producing an all-new next-generation BEV minivan sometime in 2026. Both vehicles will use the STLA Large architecture (the Airflow has already been confirmed to utilize it), which fits the narrative released by Stellantis today.

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Retooling is expected to start for the Windsor Assembly Plant in 2023, and the plant will have “maximum” flexibility to adjust production volumes as needed to meet the changing market demand over the next decade. It is said that multiple models will be produced at the plant, so we believe that the Airflow and next-generation minivan, could be joined by something else if not even a long-wheelbase (three-row) version of the Airflow.

Currently, the facility manufacturers a trio of Chrysler minivans, the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager, and Chrysler Grand Caravan.

Brampton Assembly Plant – 

Since 2004, the Brampton Assembly Plant has been tasked with manufacturing the L-Series vehicles. With the end of the Chrysler 300 Series in sight, it appears the next-generation Dodge Charger and Challenger could be headed to production stateside in Illinois at the struggling Belvidere Assembly Plant, according to multiple reports. 

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Although Stellantis has not revealed what type of new products would be coming to the Brampton facility, there have been discussions for the past several years about a North American facility building an Alfa Romeo E-segment SUV. It is a highly-competitive segment in the North American market that could be critical for the survival of the brand in the marketplace.

During the company’s EV Day 2021 Presentation, there were also a couple of vehicles based on the STLA Large architecture that could be also manufactured as the Brampton complex. That includes a new “lifestyle” based Jeep® product, as well as a unibody-based midsized pickup truck. Judging from the hints posted by Stellantis, it appears that the new Jeep product could be similar to the 2006 to Present Toyota FJ Cruiser, which the midsized pickup reminds us a lot of the new Rivian R1T electric pickup.

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What we do know for sure, is that Brampton will continue to produce the current L-Series for a small period of time, while the next-generation cars are being produced. Unlike the Ram 1500 Classic, the current L-Series cars should only overlap the new cars for a few months, allowing inventories to build up. We originally mentioned this back in January of 2020.

Retooling of the Brampton facility will begin in 2024. The plant is scheduled to resume production in 2025, allowing for the STLA Large architecture to be implemented.