Dan Mihalascu is an accomplished automotive journalist with over two decades of automotive media work both internationally and in his home country of Romania.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, and he has reviewed (sometimes even raced) cars for most of his professional life.
Prior to joining HotCars.com in July 2025, Dan worked as a news writer and editor for InsideEVs.com, CarScoops.com and Autoevolution.com. He also has bylines at DriveMag.com and ConsumerAffairs.com, among other international media outlets.
In Romania, he wrote for car magazines, sports newspapers and even a TV news station.
Writing and cars aside, he loves reading, cycling, hiking and spending quality time with his family.
Launched in 2011, the third-generation Dodge Durango is currently the brand’s oldest vehicle in the lineup, and it will remain so for about four more years.
That’s according to a new announcement from parent company Stellantis, which has pledged to invest $13 billion in the United States over the next four years, including the investment of over $5 billion announced in January 2025.
The massive investment – the largest in the company’s history – will see the automaker expand annual production by more than 50% and launch five new vehicles and 19 refreshed products through 2029, including the next-generation Durango, a new Ram midsize truck, an all-new large SUV, and the new Jeep Compass and Cherokee. The ambitious plan will create more than 5,000 new jobs at plants in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.
The fourth-gen Durango will continue to be made at the Detroit Assembly Complex – Jefferson, where Stellantis will invest $130 million to prepare the facility. The company said production is expected to launch in 2029, which means the current Durango will be an 18-year-old vehicle when it will pass the baton to its successor!
Now, let’s see what else Stellantis has in store for its U.S. unit. The biggest chunk of the newly announced investment by far – over $600 million – will go toward reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois to expand production of the all-new Jeep Cherokee and Jeep Compass for the U.S. market. The investment will create an estimated 3,300 new jobs at the site. The initial production launch is expected in 2027.
Ohio’s Toledo Assembly Complex, Jeep’s home since the 1940s, will get another big investment of nearly $400 million to accommodate the production of an all-new midsize truck starting in 2028, potentially creating more than 900 jobs at the site. The pickup will sport the Ram badge and will potentially revive the Dakota nameplate. Initially, the new midsize pickup was supposed to be made at the Belvidere plant.
In addition to the truck investment, Stellantis will continue with investments in its Toledo operations as previously announced. This includes additional technologies and “strong product actions” for both the Jeep Wrangler and the Gladiator, as well as more components critical to production at the Toledo Machining Plant.
Moving on to the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Michigan, Stellantis plans to build an all-new large SUV there starting in 2028. The new model will offer both range-extended EV and internal combustion engine powertrains. Nearly $100 million will be invested to retool the facility, adding an estimated 900 jobs in the process. The plant currently makes the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer luxury SUVs, but the Wagoneer will be dropped after the 2025 model year.
Finally, Stellantis will make additional investments totaling $100 million in several of its facilities in Kokomo, Indiana, to produce the all-new GME T4 EVO ‘Hurricane’ four-cylinder gas engine beginning in 2026. This is estimated to create more than 100 jobs and ensure the U.S. will be the manufacturing home of this powertrain, which Stellantis describes as strategic because it will have multiple applications throughout the group.
Interestingly, Stellantis’ U.S. plan makes no specific mention of the Chrysler brand, so we can only hope that at least one of the 19 refreshed products will be allocated to it.
Source: Stellantis
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