Chrysler plants and what they’ve made in the past

This page lists factories, what they make, some key products they used to make, and what we expect them to do next.

Plant rumors and future prospects

These are our projections for changes, so far (see the full list for plants that are not expected to change, e.g. Sterling Heights)

Current engine and transmissions

EP6 / PureTech. Peugeot 1.6 liter turbo engine to be made at Dundee, solely in hybrid form. Expected to produce ~280-380 hp based on current hybrid versions in Europe. New versions will use Punch Powertrain automated manual transmissions with integrated motors and probably axle motors as well.

Pentastar. 3.6 expected to continue on for the foreseeable future. Still made in three versions, one for PHEV, one Classic, one Upgraded. To be the “range extender” on Ramcharger.

Hemi. 5.7 line now makes Hurricanes; 392 SRT line makes Hurricanes; truck 6.4 line open thru 2030s.

Hurricane Six: Straight-six GME-based 3.0 liter engines with twin turbos made in Saltillo, Mexico.

Hurricane Four: Next GME 2.0 four-cylinder, confusingly; closer to Hurricane Six than original GME; officially GME 2.0 EVO.

GME. Global Medium Engine. 2.0T née “Tornado” and 3.0T “Hurricane” are GME engines, closely related, invariably turbocharged. Developed by a team drawing from Chrysler, Fiat, and Fiat Brazil, and have elements of the old Neon engine, the Pentastar and Hemi, and the old Fiat FIRE engines.

ZF based transmissions are the 9-speed and 8-speed automatics. 8-speed second generation has more hybrid capability. Both are made by Chrysler as well as by ZF; Chrysler versions have some differences either for truck capability (e.g. more serious parking pawl) or for manufacturing ease. Chrysler transmissions meet the same standards and specs as ZF ones. ZF nine-speed phased out except in minivans, in favor of purchased eight-speeds from Hyundai or Aisin; future 1.6 uses Punch transmissions only.

Car and truck assembly plants

Belvidere, Illinois

Belvidere started cranking out cars in 1965; in 1977, they switched over to front drive, making the Omni/Horizon and its derivatives into 1987. Starting in 1988 they went upscale with the Dynasty, New Yorker, Imperial, and Fifth Avenue, which they made until 1993. The first Neons rolled off the line in January 1994, and kept coming until 2005 until switching to Caliber, Patriot, and Compass; and finally Dart. Though Dart and 200 were on the same platform, Dart came from Belvidere and the 200 from Sterling Heights. Dart was replaced by Cherokee in 2017; Cherokee dropped in 2023. To get future Dakota as per union agreement.

Brampton, née Bramalea, Ontario

This plant in the Bramalea section of Brampton, Ontario, has made the Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, and Dodge Charger for those cars’ entire lifespans (not counting the original 300, Challenger, or Charger); it was also sole home of the Dodge Magnum. It’s shifting to STLA Medium in late 2024.

Built as “Bramalea” (the name of the development it’s in), the Brampton plant was put up by AMC just before Chrysler bought the company. It made the Eagle Premier, an AMC-developed version of a Renault which did not live up to expectations, from 1986 to 1992, joined after a time by the Dodge Monaco (a badge engineered car). From 1992 onwards, they made Chrysler’s large cars—the LH series until 2004, then the LX and related models, including the Lancia Thema.

Conner Avenue

The former spark plug factory that went on to build Vipers is now home to part of Chrysler’s car collection, and is used for meetings and education.

Detroit Assembly Complex, née Mack Avenue and Jefferson Avenue (Michigan)

The Detroit Assembly Complex is three different factories. Two engine plants at by the Jefferson Avenue assembly plant, which has always made Jeep Grand Cherokees; the Conner Avenue plant down the road a bit made Vipers and is now an event center and internal museum. The original Mack Avenue Plant was created by Briggs Body; a second, dubbed Mack II, was made by Chrysler for engines. At their end, both were engine plants. They were joined into one to make the Grand Cherokee.

Toledo, Ohio Jeep Plant

There are two plants in Toledo, the South one making Gladiators (originally also making Wranglers), and the North plant making Wranglers. These are relatively new assembly plants, surrounded by a supplier park, and parts are run by other companies.

Toledo North was created to make the Jeep Liberty, designed to be the next generation of the Jeep Cherokee. (When the Cherokee proved to still be popular, they renamed its replacement.) Liberty went into production in 2001; Nitro was added in 2014. They were replaced by production of the new KL Cherokee, and in 2017 by the Jeep Wrangler, with Cherokee moving to Belvidere. Toledo South has always made Wranglers or Gladiators, since being built in 1986 to replace the old Willys plant in Toledo.

Toluca, Mexico (near Mexico City)

Soon to make the Wagoneer S and Recon. It was built in the 1960s to supply Mexico, and called “AutoMex;” in 1978, Chrysler was the biggest seller of cars and of trucks in Mexico.

In 1984 Chrysler adapted the plant to make K-cars, possibly the first time Toluca made vehicles for export to the United States rather than supplying the local market. It made offshoots of the K from 1987 to 1994, when it went to Neons and was the only home of two-door Neons. The PT Cruiser displaced Neons in 2001; Journeys joined the line in 2008 and stayed on until their end. Fiat 500 was added in 2011, leaving in 2017. The Toluca plant is the furthest still-active former-Chrysler factory from Detroit—Saltillo is close to the border.

Toluca was reportedly one of DaimlerChrysler’s highest-quality plants. The complex includes a stamping facility.

The 1968 annual report was the first we found to mention the Toluca factory. It stated: “Fabricas Automex S.A., in which Chrysler Corporation has a one-third interest, had record sales in 1968 of 29,799, as compared to 29,304 in 1967. In late 1968, a new 642,000 square foot assembly plant was dedicated at Toluca, near Mexico City. The Mexican company produces Valiant, Barracuda, Dart, Belvedere and Coronet cars, and Dodge trucks. It is the largest producer of Chrysler Corporation products in Latin America, with 1,348,000 square feet of floor space and 4,850 employees.”

Windsor, Ontario

A historic plant which has been expanded numerous times and gutted several times since 1980, Windsor is a modern plant using a flexible pallette system which raises and lowers vehicles as needed. Windsor makes all of Chrysler’s minivans, as it did in 1984, and is also making Dodge Chargers and other STLA Large vehicles in future. The Windsor complex used to have five separate facilities pumping out cars, trucks, and engines, but it’s all come down to one factory. The last of the older facilities, at Pillette Road, made vans. For a full history of Windsor, see our pictorials.

Making Mopar Vans in Windsor
Dodge B-van factory photos

Making Cars in Canada: Factory Photos
A pictorial with some captions

Making Minivans in Windsor
Chrysler factory photos

Mopar Engine-Based Windsor Factory Photos
Putting engines together in Canada

Off the Line: People Doing Other Things in Chrysler Canada Plants
A pictorial of the labs, factory, and computer control areas

Truck plants: Warren and Sterling Heights, Michigan; Saltillo, Mexico

FCA US has three truck plants. Warren is the traditional American facility, and currently makes the luxury Wagoneer and the low-end Ram 1500 Classic (the latter until the 2025s come out). Sterling Heights was converted from making midsized cars and now makes the “DT” body Ram 1500 Quad and Crew Cabs; its capacity is quite high, with a massive new body shop. Finally, the Saltillo complex makes all the heavy duty trucks and chassis cabs, including one unique to Mexico; a separate building produces the Ram ProMaster; and an on-site engine plant makes every Hemi V8 and Hurricane inline six.

Warren Truck has made Dodge or Ram trucks and Dodge B-vans from 1938 to the present, including the Dakota, Mitsubishi Raider, and Ramcharger SUV. The Jeep Wagoneer joined the crew in 2022. Saltillo was originally meant to replace Lago Alberto, a 1930s era factory; it was opened in 1995. Surprisingly, the plant has a zero discharge policy and through filtration provides a surplus of clean drinking water which is used by local residents. Waste is treated on site.

Sterling Stamping used to make K-based cars such as the Lebaron GTS, Shadow, and Daytona; it went on to make midsized “cloud cars” (Cirrus, Stratus, and Breeze) in the 1990s, and continued to make midsized cars until 2017, when the Chrysler 200 was dropped. The factory was heavily rebuilt with a new body and paint shop when the 200 was brought in, and converted over to truck manufacturing in 2017-2018.

Engine and transmission

The oldest engine plant is at Trenton Engine, which has an old and new building; they make three varieties of Pentastar V6 and a multitude of parts. Trenton Engine is a decent drive south of Detroit, served by rail and highway, and right on the edge of a nature preserve; it’s also quite close to Grosse Ile.

Moving south, Saltillo, again, makes every Hemi and the Hurricane, as well as two varieties of Pentastar (PUG and PHEV) in a separate facility.

Then there are the new plants: Dundee, built under Daimler, which makes 1.6 liter engines, having lost the 2.4 liter engines and the Pentastar. The new 2.0 liter engines are made at the newest plant, in Kokomo—formerly the Indiana Transmission Plant II. The 1.3 was briefly at Kokomo.

All of Chrysler’s home-built transmissions are made in Indiana, near Kokomo or Tipton; there are two plants near Kokomo which make transmissions, one for nine speed automatics, one for eight-speeds. Kokomo Transmission, which makes eight speeds, also machines nine-speed components. Tipton makes nine-speeds, including a special one for the Pacifica PHEV. A new battery plant in the Kokomo area will make batteries and cells—most likely pure Samsung designs.

Building Trenton Engine
to Make Classic V8s and Air Raid Sirens

Building and Running the Slant Six Line at Trenton
Making the legendary Leaning Tower of Power

Making V8 engines
Trenton in pictures

Trenton Engine milestones
1964 Hemi to Pentastar

Trenton Engine: Building New V6 Lines in 2000
A pictorial with explanations and stories

Tales From the Factory: Matching Pistons and Blocks
How the factory managed precision problems, back in the day

The rest

There are four stamping facilities: Warren, Sterling, Toluca, and Saltillo. Each is near an assembly plant. Warren and Sterling Heights are off Van Dyke Avenue, a reasonably short drive from Detroit.

There are also three other support plants—Etobicoke, which makes powertrain components and aluminum die castings; Toledo, which makes steering columns and torque converters; and the beautiful Mt. Elliott Tool & Die (in Detroit), which makes stamping dies and checking and stamping fixtures. Etobicoke, west of Toronto, was built in 1942 and purchased by Chrysler in 1964, and expanded in 1965 and 1998.

Mount Elliott is on the border of the scenic Outer Drive and Mt. Elliott Street; Chrysler has used both names, sometimes calling the facility Outer Drive. The building itself was put up in 1938 by Briggs Body as a stamping plant; it was purchased by Chrysler, with most of Briggs’ assets, in 1956 and used until 1983. At that time, the stamping presses were removed and tool and die manufacturing equipment was brought in from Vernor Tool & Die, which was being closed down. The Mt. Elliott facility also had did pilot plant operations and stamping plant engineering into the 1990s, but these facilities were moved into the Chrysler Technology Center. The plant was idled in 2018 and was due to be closed and sold, but is apparently open once again.

Where they make it: Mopar plants and what they’ve made before