A possible new Dodge product for the Windsor Assembly Plant has gotten caught up in unfair labor practice charges filed this week by the United Autoworkers against Stellantis.
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The UAW is concerned that Stellantis plans to move production of the Dodge Durango or its replacement across the border to the Windsor Assembly Plant in 2027.
The US-based union claims its 2023 contract with the company assures UAW workers get to continue producing the three-row SUV — as well as any future generations of the Durango — at the Detroit Assembly Complex.
The UAW filing with the US National Labor Relations Board states the grievance is required because of the failure of Stellantis to clarify its intentions about the future of the Durango in recent months.
The Windsor Star first reported Aug. 30 that Stellantis was looking at building a new Dodge product at its Windsor Assembly Plant, according to analyst Sam Fiorani, vice-president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions.
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Stellantis hasn’t confirmed any product assignments for either Windsor or Detroit Assembly.
“Stellantis has not received the filing, and therefore has not had an opportunity to review the charge,” Stellantis Canada head of communications Lou Ann Gosselin told the Star Tuesday in an email statement.
“The Company has not violated the commitments made in the Investment Letter included in the 2023 UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“Like all our competitors, Stellantis is attempting to carefully manage how and when we bring new vehicles to market with a focus on enhancing our competitiveness and ensuring our future sustainability and growth.
“We will communicate our plans to the UAW at the appropriate time.”
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The latest grievance is just one of nearly two dozen the UAW has filed against Stellantis in recent months as the two sides battle over new products and product commitments at a variety of US plants.
“The current executive at Stellantis doesn’t seem prepared to just give into union demands,” Fiorani said.
“CEO Carlos Tavares has been looking to make cost cuts to make more money off each vehicle. If that antagonizes the union, they seem to be open to that.”
Fiorani told the Star Tuesday the new Dodge product scheduled for Windsor isn’t the next generation of Durango or even viewed by Stellantis as a replacement for that product.
“It’s not a direct replacement, not that there is a replacement for the Durango,” Fiorani said. “This will be a large two-row Dodge SUV not a three-row. It’s something new.
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“Jeep has plenty of three-row vehicles. This is meant to fit in between the Jeep Compass and a potential Jeep Cherokee replacement and the Grand Cherokee as a standalone Dodge product.”
Fiorani said Stellantis plans to begin production of the new Dodge SUV in April 2027 and end production of the Durango in July 2027. He said the company has currently given the new Dodge product the name Stealth.
“Until recently, there were two crossovers planned — a two-row and a three-row — now it’s just two rows,” Fiorani said of Stellantis’s plans to eliminate the three-row Durango.
Fiorani added the company wants to eliminate the Durango as competition for its more profitable Jeep products of similar size. It could then free up production at the Detroit Assembly Complex to produce more Jeep Grand L and Grand Cherokee products.
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“Windsor also has space to fill out at the moment,” Fiorani said.
Fiorani said the Dodge SUV will use Windsor’s STLA large platform. The Durango is built on the same assembly platform as the Grand Cherokee and the STLA large platform won’t be introduced at the Detroit plant until mid-2028.
The Dodge SUV is expected to be offered with options for internal combustion, hybrid and battery-electric powertrains. Fiorani said the vehicle will “likely have a less rugged, less outdoorish image to it.”
It will join a fully electric two-row Chrysler crossover that is expected to begin production at Windsor Assembly in early 2026. That would give the plant four products, along with the Pacifica minivan and new Charger.
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“On paper that’s what it looks like,” said Fiorani when asked if by creating a differentiated model the company has given itself the wiggle room needed to fend off the contract violation allegations.
“On the marketing end, it seems a bad move, wasting 25 years of marketing and support of the Durango name to enter a name that’s not been on the market.
“On the other side, Stellantis is looking at how they need to break from the US product to be able to move it across (to Windsor). It (Dodge SUV) fills a different space and it’s not competing with profitable Stellantis products.”
Fiorani also offered an update this week on Stellantis’s production plans for the fully electric Dodge Charger.
“Through August of this year they’ve assembled 540 new EV Chargers,” Fiorani said. “The plan right now is to build that many in the month of September and then ramp up production in October.”
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