Floor Space: 5.0 million square feet

Acreage: 286 acres

Products: Ram 1500 (Quad Cab and Crew Cab)

Union Local: UAW Local 1700, 889 and 412

Plant History:  Facility was built in 1953 as a jet engine plant and was operated by the Army as the Michigan Ordinance Missile Plant with Chrysler serving as contractor, building Redstone and Jupiter missiles. It was converted to an automobile plant in 1980 by Volkswagen and purchased by Chrysler Corporation in 1983. Production of Chrysler LeBaron GTS and Dodge Lancer began in September 1984. Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance production began in 1985, and Dodge Daytona production began in 1991. Through the end of the 1991 model year, the facility had produced nearly 1.3 million vehicles. Production of the 2001 Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring sedans began in the fall of 2000, followed by the Chrysler Sebring Convertible. The all-new 2007 Chrysler Sebring Sedan launched in August 2006, followed by the all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger and 2008 Chrysler Sebring Convertible.

The Company announced in July 2010 that it would add a second shift of production, or about 900 jobs, in the first quarter of 2011. The second shift began in February 2011.
 
In October 2010, the Company confirmed that it would invest nearly $850 million in a state-of-the-art 425,000-square-foot paint shop at the plant as well as surrounding stamping plants. A year later in October 2011, the Company announced that it would invest $165 million to add a 1-million-square-foot body shop.

The Company launched production of the all-new 2011 Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger on Dec. 6, 2010. Production of the Chrysler 200 Convertible followed in February 2011. The Lancia version of the Chrysler 200 Convertible, the Lancia Flavia, began production in March 2012. Production of the Chrysler 200 Convertible ended in November 2013.

The all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show on Jan. 13, 2014, and production began on March 14, 2014. Due to a shift in demand from cars to utility vehicles, the plant returned to a one shift operation on July 5, 2016. The last 200 rolled off the line on Dec. 2, 2016.

On July 26, 2016, FCA announced that it would invest $1.48 billion in plant to retool it to build the next generation Ram 1500 and support the future growth of the Ram brand. Two months later, the Company confirmed that it would create 700 new jobs to support production of the new truck, which officially launched in March 2018.

The plant transitioned from a 3-2-120 operating pattern to a traditional three shift operation in January 2021.

On September 11, 2024, Stellantis announced that it would invest $235.5 million at the plant to produce the Company’s first-ever battery electric 2025 Ram 1500 REV light-duty truck. The Ram 1500 REV was unveiled at the 2023 New York Auto Show and will launch in late 2024. The plant will also build the all-new range-extended 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger.

Awards
The Sterling Heights Assembly Plant's new body shop received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Green Building System certification in July 2015 for meeting the highest environmental standards. FCA US invested $165 million to construct the one million square-foot body shop on the site of the existing assembly plant. It includes 960,000 square feet of manufacturing space, a 33,000 square-foot Metrology Lab, plus office space, and mechanical and electrical equipment rooms. The new building was designed to not only be a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, but one designed and constructed to be a model of sustainability. 


(Updated: Sept. 2024) 

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