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Stellantis Shifting Durango Production For Alfa Romeo SUV?

Alfa Romeo EV SUV To Be Built At JNAP As Durango Moves To Windsor?

Stellantis is making notable shifts in its production plans, with recent reports highlighting changes for both the Dodge Durango and a new Alfa Romeo electric SUV. While a leaked document from CocheSpias in May states the production of an all-electric Alfa Romeo E-segment SUV (codenamed A6U) at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP), the Windsor Star has reported that the next-generation Dodge Durango (codenamed D6U) will be moving to the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario.

2026 Alfa Romeo E-Segment SUV Rendering. (MoparInsiders).

The upcoming Alfa Romeo SUV is set to be built on Stellantis’ STLA Large platform, a dedicated architecture for electric vehicles (EVs) offering a range of up to 500 miles (800 kilometers) on a single charge. This marks a significant step for Alfa Romeo as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in the North American market with a premium, all-electric SUV exclusively built for the U.S. and Canada. However, the leaked document shows modest sales projections, with Stellantis estimating around 2,000 units sold in the first year, growing to nearly 10,700 units by 2028. These figures are a fraction of the production volumes of the Dodge Durango, which sold 69,195 units in the U.S. alone in 2023.

Leaked Document sighting Alfa Romeo E-SUV. (CocheSpias).

The move of Durango production to Windsor, according to the Windsor Star, marks a major shift for the brand, as the model has traditionally been built at JNAP alongside the Jeep® Grand Cherokee. Currently, the Jeep Grand Cherokee (WL) is built at both JNAP and its sister facility, the Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack (DACM), located next door. With the upcoming production of the Alfa Romeo A6U and lower projected volumes, it remains a question whether Stellantis will consolidate production of the Grand Cherokee to just one plant. This uncertainty is further amplified by the recent decision to shift some three-row Grand Cherokee L production to Egypt.

2024 Jeep® Grand Cherokee Altitude 4×4 at the JNAP facility. (Stellantis).

The new Alfa Romeo SUV will be exclusively electric, in contrast to the upcoming Durango and Grand Cherokee models, which will offer both internal combustion engine (ICE) and battery-electric vehicle (BEV) options. This positions the A6U as a bold entry into the premium electric SUV segment, leveraging Stellantis’ global resources to meet regional market demands in North America.

2024 Dodge Durango R/T AWD at the JNAP facility. (Stellantis).

Stellantis’ strategy to introduce the Alfa Romeo SUV at JNAP, a plant historically known for its production of high-volume ICE vehicles like the Durango, signals the automaker’s commitment to EV and expanding Alfa Romeo’s presence in the U.S. and Canadian markets. However, the lower projected sales of the Alfa Romeo SUV compared to the Durango raise questions about whether other models, like the Jeep Grand Cherokee, will see production changes to optimize facility usage.

Robert S. Miller

Robert S. Miller is a diehard Mopar enthusiast who lives and breathes all that is Mopar. The Michigander is not only the Editor for MoparInsiders.com, 5thGenRams.com, and HDRams.com but an automotive photographer. He is an avid fan of offshore powerboat racing, which he travels the country to take part in.

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Sounds like a factory readiness issue. The new Durango is starting production in 2025 or 2026, and the Alfa is coming in 2027, the same year as the next Grand Cherokee. Windsor is already set up to build STLA Large vehicles (Charger), while Detroit may need some retooling?

Capacity-wise, the Alfa could likely be produced at either plant, since they are anticipating building only 20k a year once production ramps up in 2028.Screenshot_20240621_093006_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20240618_082947_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20240613_114306_Adobe Acrobat.jpg

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Stellantis Shifting Durango Production For Alfa Romeo SUV?​

Alfa Romeo EV SUV To Be Built At JNAP As Durango Moves To Windsor?​

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Stellantis is making notable shifts in its production plans, with recent reports highlighting changes for both the Dodge Durango and a new Alfa Romeo electric SUV. While a leaked document from CocheSpias in May states the production of an all-electric Alfa Romeo E-segment SUV (codenamed A6U) at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP), the Windsor Starhas reported that the next-generation Dodge Durango (codenamed D6U) will be moving to the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario.

Currently Durango may be older yet sells about the same as GM's hyped Blazer which is amazing. Makes me wonder how long current Durango could keep going? Dodge buyers don't seem enamoured by new platforms or care about how long it's been since latest refresh. Durango is a classic design borrowed from Magnum. Hoping Stellantis maintains the basics and simply evolves the concept.

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Well that fancy quad exhaust definitely means the Alfa Romeo SUV wouldn't be an EV, that's for sure. The more I think of it though, If the other Stellantis brands had a larger presence over here, would it be enough to balance out the carbon footprint for them to continue producing our beloved Mopar brands in a way that would please the current customer base (with hurricane engines, not v8s). Take Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati for instance, Fiat and Alfa are known for small engines and things like that. Use them in the North American Market to do battle with the Japanese and Korea vehicles and the onslaught of the electric market. I see no reason why a good 85% of those vehicles can't be put on the STLA Medium platform with hybrid powertrains with Hurricane-4 engines up front with the E-DCT gearbox driving the from wheels and a powerful STLA Medium EDM powering the rear wheels, taking on cars like the Civic Type R, Integra Type S, TLX Type S, MDX Type S, Elantra N, Toyota's entire GR lineup and sold as Fiat Abarth cars. Do the same with Alfa Romeo & Maserati and make some Quadrifoglio & Trofeo vehicles to battle it out with the 4-series and smaller BMW M cars and some of the AMG Mercedes vehicles. All of it would be electrified because they would have the EDMs in the back and the hybrid E-DCT gearboxes up front but they'd also have the 2.0L Hurricane-4 Turbo as well. Let those cars flood the market and displace Toyota, Honda and Nissan, let the Chrysler brand do all of the full BEV models, let Jeep be an off road brand again, Ram will always be Ram and let Dodge rule the roads again with Hurricane-6 powertrains with massive amounts of horsepower and torque! Maybe even bring back the cubic inch displacement of the Australian Hemi-6 engines in 3.5L, 4.0L & 4.3L with Hurricane twin turbo technology and performance and a hybrid 8-speed Gen-4. Let the Mopar brands be exclusively run on the STLA Large and STLA frame platforms. Heck, let Chrysler be all electric and come out with decent cars, we may even see the end of Tesla, which would be amazing!

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To be successful a global automobile company has to be global. Alfa Romeo is losing its pure Italian status just as Jeep is losing its pure American status. What will remain for any Stellantis brand is unique styling imagery that will be based around historic design elements that could be done in the native countries but built elsewhere in the most cost effective way, with each site replicating the manufacturing system and process. You will have multiple brands sharing the same factory and only one brand would be domestic, maybe none. You could have Jeeps, Fiats, Peugeot’s and Alfa Romeos all built in the same factory, sharing a common architecture that focuses on a market that targets the same customer base generally, but a different brand identity to match the.targeted market. A kind of slight of hand to maximize build quality and profits. Look for your next Jeep to be built in Poland sitting next to one built in Toledo Ohio that all have the iconic Jeep seven slot grill and the buyer sees a Jeep in both, superficially an “.All-American” Icon that few will dig any deeper into its origin. Now you see it, now you don’t ! It’s magic!! Welcome to the 21st century folks.

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Well that fancy quad exhaust definitely means the Alfa Romeo SUV wouldn't be an EV, that's for sure. The more I think of it though, If the other Stellantis brands had a larger presence over here, would it be enough to balance out the carbon footprint for them to continue producing our beloved Mopar brands in a way that would please the current customer base (with hurricane engines, not v8s). Take Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati for instance, Fiat and Alfa are known for small engines and things like that. Use them in the North American Market to do battle with the Japanese and Korea vehicles and the onslaught of the electric market. I see no reason why a good 85% of those vehicles can't be put on the STLA Medium platform with hybrid powertrains with Hurricane-4 engines up front with the E-DCT gearbox driving the from wheels and a powerful STLA Medium EDM powering the rear wheels, taking on cars like the Civic Type R, Integra Type S, TLX Type S, MDX Type S, Elantra N, Toyota's entire GR lineup and sold as Fiat Abarth cars. Do the same with Alfa Romeo & Maserati and make some Quadrifoglio & Trofeo vehicles to battle it out with the 4-series and smaller BMW M cars and some of the AMG Mercedes vehicles. All of it would be electrified because they would have the EDMs in the back and the hybrid E-DCT gearboxes up front but they'd also have the 2.0L Hurricane-4 Turbo as well. Let those cars flood the market and displace Toyota, Honda and Nissan, let the Chrysler brand do all of the full BEV models, let Jeep be an off road brand again, Ram will always be Ram and let Dodge rule the roads again with Hurricane-6 powertrains with massive amounts of horsepower and torque! Maybe even bring back the cubic inch displacement of the Australian Hemi-6 engines in 3.5L, 4.0L & 4.3L with Hurricane twin turbo technology and performance and a hybrid 8-speed Gen-4. Let the Mopar brands be exclusively run on the STLA Large and STLA frame platforms. Heck, let Chrysler be all electric and come out with decent cars, we may even see the end of Tesla, which would be amazing!

Of all the traditional domestic Mopar brands, Chrysler might be the only one that could be successful as an all electric marquee. Chrysler, let’s face it, is essentially gone, but the image of Chrysler’s past still endures. Why not be a direct Tesla competitor, why not reinvent itself that way since little else is left besides its image to clutter up the brands portfolio and its defined market target on the showroom floor. It’s smart and really intelligent for all the other brands to make room in its brand composition, essentially and necessarily an ICE dominated brand for an electric model. But Chrysler, the new Chrysler, can be redefined and really, really, go after Tesla. That how I would approach it.

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