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Mopar factory dances: How Chrysler has to juggle to beat tariffs!
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Jul 21, 2025
Here’s how we figure Stellantis will move FCA US, FCA Canada, and FCA Mexico factories around to survive the next few years...! With backgrounds from the Carlisle Chrysler Nationals and the Jeep proving grounds, in case you need a distraction. #mopar #carfactory #stellantis #tariffs
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0:00
Hi, this is Dave from Motel and I'm here
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to talk to you a little bit about what
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Chrysler needs to do. Sorry, Stalantis
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or FCAUS in particular needs to do about
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their factories. And the problem is that
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we are facing a lot of import taxes or
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tariffs as they're commonly known. Now,
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the problem is for automakers is that
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first of all, parts cross the borders
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quite a lot since we had the North
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American Free Trade Agreement. However,
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that's going away midyear 2026. So,
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let's assume for a moment that all these
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tariffs are going to be permanent. What
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that does is that returns us to the days
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of before the 1960s
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where basically that's how we did
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things. Each country had its own
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factories. So, what are we looking at
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with the former Chrysler in terms of if
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we make it one set of factories for the
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US and one for elsewhere? Well, first of
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all, I would expect that Sterling
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Heights and Warren would start making
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heavy duty pickups, which would move up
1:00
from Saltio, Mexico. The ProMaster
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probably isn't made in large enough
1:05
quantities to bother moving it up, and
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they might keep making them, and they
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might decide that they don't really need
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to be doing commercial bands in the
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United States anymore. But regardless, I
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would expect the Ram 2500 and 3500 to
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move up to the US. They make I I would
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say about 40% of Rams Ram pickups are
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the Ram 2500 and 3500. So they'll need a
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lot of space to make those. They might
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just devote Warren truck to making the
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heavy duty Rams and move the wagon ear
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over to join the Ram 1500 it's based on
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in Sterling Heights. I figured that the
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chassis cabs will probably go away. The
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Ram 3500, 45, and 5500. They haven't
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really been updated in years and years.
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So, I don't think that anybody the
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company really expects to keep making
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them. Now, as for the engines, they can
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either shift the hurricane engines into
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the US. Trenton has plenty of space.
1:57
Dundee probably has plenty of space.
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Cooko could make space. Uh, the Hemi V8
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is already going to be made starting in
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August in Dundee. And that would be all
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the engines made here. And for trucks
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sold in Canada and Mexico, the plant in
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Mexico can keep on making the
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Hurricanes, and they probably wouldn't
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have a V8 option after a while. or they
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would price it with that tariff in mind.
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Uh to uh Saltio wouldn't shut down
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entirely. Saltio would be supplying
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Mexico and Canada. It's a much smaller
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market. So there'd be a lot of jobs
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lost. Belvier, I think, will end up with
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Stella medium. That's the mediumsiz
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front-wheel drive base cars that were
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designed uh the basis is designed uh in
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Europe from uh Fujo. And that was
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supposed to be the next generation Jeep
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Compass here, but they've paused all
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work on the Compass. Probably trying to
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figure out whether they can still make
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them in Bmpton. I'm pretty sure that
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they're going to decide that they have
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to make them in the United States. And
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I'm pretty sure if they do, it will be
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in Belvadier. And they'll set it up so
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that they'll have a Chrysler, Dodge, and
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a Jeep all coming off the same basic
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Stella medium platform using either the
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Pujo 1.6 six liter engines being
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produced in Dundee andor the 2 L uh
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Hurricane 4-cylinders that are coming up
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also to be made in Dundee. Now, the
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midsize pickup that they're working on,
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I suspect is going to be compatible with
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one of their Toledo plants where they
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make the Gladiator. So, I figure that
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that'll actually just slip over there
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into Toledo, leaving Belvadier free
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because having the entire Belvadier
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plant to make a midsize pickup is kind
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of a gamble. And right now they don't
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have the money for gambling because they
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lost over $2.5 billion dollar in the
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first half of 2025. And a lot of that is
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because US sales just plummeted for
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Stallantis while everybody else had a
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boom. So they've got to cut prices and
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they have lower volume and they're going
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to lose money. One of the big question
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is whether they're willing to invest all
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these billions of dollars I'm talking
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about in repurposing factories and
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moving things around. I'm assuming that
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they will. Stella Large, that is most of
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the company's vehicle name plates right
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now. That would include next generation
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Grand Cherokee. Uh presumably next
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generation Durango if there is one. That
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includes the Charger, both gasoline and
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electric. That includes the Recon. That
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includes a charger. And that would
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include, according to past plans, the
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minivan. Now, I think that what will
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happen is that those will all end up
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being built in the Detroit complex for
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the United States. That's two factories,
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the old Jefferson Avenue and the two old
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Mac Avenue engine plants joined together
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into one great big new plant. I think
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that that's plenty of capacity and it's
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flexible enough to make all these
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different vehicles there. And I suspect
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that Windsor or Tuluca, probably not
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both, will make all the Stella large
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platform vehicles for both Canada and
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Mexico. And it's not that much sales in
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those two countries combined that they
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would need more than one factory. Uh,
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I'm hoping, you know, both of the
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factories have a lot of good to say
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about them. Windsor, in particular, has
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often been Chrysler's best factory, and
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it's been there since before there was a
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Chrysler Corporation. So, I'm rooting
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for Windsor, but TUCA has a lot to
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recommend it to. I think that that's the
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main amount of changes. The Hornet will
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probably just disappear. It's not really
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economic to make it here. They've
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already said they're not going to bring
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any over in 2026 because of the tariffs
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being way too high for them to make any
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money off it. The Pacifica, they might
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actually end up just dropping at some
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point. Uh, it sales so far this year
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have been abysmally bad. The Kia
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Carnival has been unexpectedly high
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competition, which is the first time
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that Kia's ever seriously challenged
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Chrysler for minivans. But I think that
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the company by not doing a new minivan
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in so many years has really given up.
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And whether they continue Chrysler with
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the medium or not, I don't know what
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they plan. And that's it. We'll all see
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together what happens. In the meantime,
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I keep track of the rumors and the news
6:14
at motel.com.
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Uh the news at motel.com/now.
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So I'll see at Motel or I'll see here on
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