European automotive giant Stellantis unveiled on Wednesday investments of $406 million in three facilities in the US state of Michigan.

The group has also confirmed that the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant will be its first US plant to build a battery electric vehicle (BEV), Kallanish reports.

The move comes as other carmakers in the US are slowing down their EV plans. Michigan-headquartered Ford, for example, has discontinued production of a BEV three-row SUV to focus on hybrid models citing “challenging” battery costs, and delaying production of the new BEV truck Project T3 by two years to 2027.

Launching this year, Stellantis’ Ram 1500 REV pickup truck and the range-extended 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger will be built alongside internal combustion engine (ICE) models in Sterling Heights following an investment of $235.5m.

The installations were completed during two planned down weeks, which the company says were finished ahead of schedule.

Another $97.6m will be invested to retool the Warren Truck Assembly Plant to produce a future electrified Jeep Wagoneer, to be launched before the end of 2025. These models will be built on the same line as ICE versions of the Jeep Wagoneer and Wagoneer L, as well as the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer L.  

A final $74m is allocated to retool the Dundee Engine Plant to assemble, weld and test battery trays for the STLA Frame architecture and to machine the front and rear beams for the STLA Large architecture. Production will begin in 2024 and 2026, respectively. 

The investments are part of Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 plan, which has earmarked €50 billion ($55 billion) spend across the decade to reach a 100% passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the US by 2030.

The US Department of Energy has allocated $1.7 billion to 11 shuttered or at-risk automotive plants to support their conversion to EV manufacturing, from which Stellantis will receive two grants of $334m and $250m for two facilities in Illinois and Indiana, respectively.