Stellantis NV, maker of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, says it will idle three plants in North America over the week of July 4 as a part of its summer shutdown schedule.
It’s the usual time of year when automakers take downtime at plants, often for maintenance and to make preparations for the next model year of their vehicles. Some companies, however, are aiming not to halt assembly lines to make up for lost production from an ongoing global microchip shortage. Most Stellantis brands have more days of supply on dealer lots in the United States, according to automotive services provider Cox Automotive Inc., than competitors.
The automaker’s Ontario, Canada, plants will idle next week. That includes Brampton Assembly Plant where it builds the Dodge muscle cars and the Chrysler 300 sedan, as well as Windsor Assembly Plant, where it makes the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Saltillo Truck Assembly in Mexico also will idle production lines for the heavy-duty Ram pickup trucks and Ram 1500 Classic, which also is produced at Warren Assembly Plant.
Later in July, Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois producing the Jeep Cherokee crossover will idle the week of July 18. Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, home of the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator pickup, will take downtime the week of July 25.
In August, Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico will stop production of the Jeep Compass for the week of Aug. 8. Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which makes the Ram 1500, will be down the week of Aug. 22.
Warren Truck Assembly, which makes the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, and Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit, which assembles the two-row and three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, were down the week of June 27.
Saltillo Van Assembly in Mexico, which makes Ram’s ProMaster commercial vans, and Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, which also makes the two-row Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango SUV, won’t have summer shutdown because of downtime for model-year conversions earlier this year.
Additionally, powertrain, stamping and component plants will align work patterns to support assembly production schedules.
The transatlantic automaker noted it continues to work with its suppliers to mitigate manufacturing impacts from supply chain issues that resulted in a 16% year-over-year decrease in U.S. sales in the second quarter.
“As the situation continues to be very fluid,” spokeswoman Ann Marie Fortunate said in a statement, “we are making production adjustments as necessary to minimize additional production impact.”
bnoble@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @BreanaCNoble