Chrysler factories, offices, and testing grounds, 1924-2009
New: added Lago Alberto (Mexico City)
This section does not generally include Hudson, Nash, AMC, Willys, etc; or Dodge Brothers before the acquisition. Years are production years and not model years. The main part of the list is for assembly plants but parts and other plants are listed later on this page. Some more obscure Detroit listings are courtesy of atdetroit.net
Belvidere Assembly Plant
Put into service in 1965, the Belvidere plant was named for the city it is in, while the Belvedere car (introduced 14 years after the plant opened) was named after the hotel, causing the Webmaster consternation over spelling.
| Plymouth, Dodge | 1965-77 |
| Chrysler | 1973-77 |
| Horizon / Omni | 1977-87 |
| O24, TC3, Charger, Turismo, Duster | 1979-1987 |
| Dynasty/New Yorker/Imperial/Fifth Avenue | 1988-1993 |
| Neon | 1994-2005 |
| Caliber, Compass, Patriot | 2006-?? |
Brampton Complex, Canada
Brampton Assembly:
- 1986-92 Eagle Premier and Dodge Monaco (Monaco started 1990)
- June 1992-2004: LH models, all of them: Intrepid, Concorde, LHS, New Yorker, 300M
- January 2004-??: LX models, all of them: 300, Magnum, Charger (and, starting soon, Challenger)
- Built by American Motors; the 2.95 million square-foot facility and the Brampton Satellite Stamping Plant occupy 269 acres and employed around 3,800 workers in 2006. Production at the satellite stamping facility started in December 1991. The plant has built from 18,133 to 338,921 vehicles per year, with 1999 (second-generation LH series) being the peak year, followed by 2005 and 2006 (LX series).
- The Kennedy Road plant, partof Brampton Assembly, has its own section later.
Conner Avenue (small-scale specialty production)
- Built in 1966; acquired by Chrysler in 1995.
- Dodge Viper, 1996-present
- Plymouth Prowler, 1997-2002 (later production rebadged as Chrysler Prowler)
- Conner Avenue (Viper and Prowler) Assembly Plant
Dufferin Avenue, Toronto (1924-1929)
Opened by Dodge Brothers in 1924 to assemble Dodge Brothers cars and Graham Brothers trucks for the Canadian market. Closed when the Chrysler Centre plant in Windsor opened. Both Dodge Brothers cars and Graham Brothers trucks were made from 1928 to 1929.
Etiboke Casting Plant, Toronto
In 2005, this plant employed 451 people to make aluminum die castings, pistons, and other engine and transmission parts.
Evansville (closed 1959)
Plymouth, 1935-1959; Dodge, 1936-1938
Fenton, Missouri
The Fenton plant made trucks and vans; it was right next to the “St. Louis” car/minivan plant in Fenton. The Fenton plant made B-series vans and wagons until 1980; it currently builds the Dodge Ram. Further information would be appreciated.
Hamtramck
The former Dodge Main plant; after being closed, it was demolished, along with a huge number of homes and small businesses in a relatively prosperous area, to make room for a Cadillac plant, with eminent domain used to clear people off of the land, some getting ten cents to the dollar of their homes’ or businesses’ value. The Cadillac plant was heavily automated and never employed anywhere near the number of people promised by General Motors, which, in addition to the land, received millions of taxpayer dollars to build their factory.
| Dodge Brothers | 1928-1929 |
| Dodge | 1930-1964 |
| Graham Bros. Trucks | 1928-1929 |
| DeSoto Firesweep | 1956-1959 |
| Dodge Dart, Plymouth Valiant | 1959-1975 |
| Dodge Lancer | 1960-1962 |
| Plymouth | 1964-1966 |
| Barracuda | 1964-1974 |
| Dodge Charger | 1966-1969 |
| Dodge Challenger | 1969-1974 |
| Volare | 1975-1980 |
| Aspen | 1975-1980 |
Highland Park
This was the Maxwell plant from 1913 with the collapse of the United States Motor Car Company. The complex was the headquarters of Chrysler until the move to Auburn Hills. After car assembly ended, the plant built various parts over the years including the fluid couplng and torque converter units for Fluid Drive and Fluid Torque Drive.
| Maxwell | 1924-1925 |
| Chrysler Four | 1925-1928 |
| Plymouth | 1928-1929 |
| DeSoto | 1928-1929 |
| Fargo Truck | 1928-1929 |
Jefferson Avenue and Jefferson North
The original Chalmers plant was built on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit in 1909, and closed in 1991. In 1933, a noted office and display building was built to front the thriving Jefferson Avenue factory complex; it was demolished in the 1990s. The nearby Jefferson Avenue North plant has made Grand Cherokees since opening in 1993, and has been the sole source of Jeep Commanders.
Kennedy Road (part of Brampton)
Rambler 1960-? Opened in December, 1960 by AMC, now it’s Wal-Mart’s central Canadian warehouse. “135SOHC” wrote, “AMC assigned all orders for the Eagle to Kennedy Road to keep production at full capacity. Remaining orders were assigned to the Kenosha lakefront assembly plant through 1983; all 1984 and later Eagles were built in Canada.” Unknown 1970s?-1980 AMC Eagle (prime source) 1980-1983 AMC Eagle (sole source) 1980-87 Jeep Wrangler 1988-92
Lago Alberto (Mexico City)
The Lago Alberto truck plant in Mexico City was built in the early 1930s; in 1992, when the Mexican government started to demand a measure of environmental responsibility, Chrysler Corporation decided to close the antiquated plant and move production to Toluca and a new plant in Saltillo, both of which still are operational. However, according to Derek Strohl, the automakers negotiated a break for VOC emissions, and the plant was given until 2006 to bring its volatile organic compound emissions down to acceptable levels (e.g. comparable to Canada and the United States). Thus, by 1997, the plant had highly efficient electrostatic paint applicators, water running underneat the floors to catch paint vapors, and other measures.
While Chrysler planned a continued investment in Lago Alberto, in 1998 the stockholders approved an ill-advised acquisition by Daimler, and all growth ended. In 2002, the factory was closed.
Los Angeles (1932-1971)
| Plymouth | 1929-1964 | Barracuda | 1964-1966 | |
| Dodge | 1946-1964 | Barracuda | 1969-1970 | |
| DeSoto | 1929-1959 | Challenger | 1969-1970 | |
| Chrysler | 1948-1960 | Dart | 1959-1971 | |
| Valiant | 1960-1971 | Belvedere | 1964-1971 | |
| Lancer | 1960-1962 | Coronet | 1964-1971 |
Lynch Road
The famous Lynch Road assembly plant built Plymouth, DeSoto, and Fargo vehicles starting from 1929; it continued to make Plymouths through 1980, when it closed. At that point it was also making the St. Regis and Chrysler cars. Along the way, Lynch Road built the Monaco, Coronet, and Charger, along with a host of Plymouths.
Lynch Road Assembly Plant coverage
Marysville Axle Plant
This plant was a sort of joint venture, with ZF running the plant but using Chrysler UAW people and having Chrysler as their primary customer. We were told in February 2009:
The core team has reportedly been placed back at Detroit Axle Plant until some definitive plans have been made between ZF and Chrysler LLC. The plans (currently) are for the Core Launch Team to return to MAP (Marysville Axle Plant) by the beginning of summer. There was a discrepancy as to who was going to pay for the MAP hourly people, and since ZF wouldn't commit just yet they had to come back as Chrysler was going to continue footing the bill. Currently the story is that 200 hourly people will be hired from Chrysler as the volume committment is not there as originally planned.
The Marysville plant is still under construction and will take over production from the current axle plant.
Mack Avenue
One building is new; the other was a Briggs stamping plant, gutted and rebuilt. Mack Avenue Engine Complex.
McGraw Avenue
Christopher Bingham researched this plant and found it was purchased from General Motors in 1936, and started DeSoto production in model-year 1937. DeSoto left in 1958 due to slow sales and a recession, to be built alongside Chrysler models on Jefferson Avenue; the 1959 model year DeSoto would be the first built after McGraw, which was converted to glass production. As of 2007 McGraw Glass was still in production, but was slated for shutdown.
Bill Watson, on the other hand, wrote that McGraw Avenue was a stamping plant (oil pans, valve covers, etc.) located next to the Wyoming Avenue plant, and said that no cars were actually built in this plant; it was converted to glass production in 1960, according to Bill. Chrysler used it for export operations — its original purpose, under GM — from 1960 to 1980.
Mexico City
See Lago Alberto, above.
Mound Road
Mound Road Engine in Detroit, Michigan was closed in 2002 after a 47-year run, with production shifting to Mack Avenue; both V8 and V10 engines had been made there. The Mound Road plant was torn down in 2003 and has been paved over and used as a storage lot for Warren Truck.
Mt. Elliott Tool & Die
Built in 1938 and still operating. See our dedicated Mt. Elliott Tool & Die / Outer Drive page.
Newark, Delaware
Closed in December 2008. See our Newark Assembly Plant page.
| Plymouth and Dodge | 1957-1973 |  |
| Valiant, Dart/Lancer | 1960-1964 | |
| Chrysler | 1964-1971 | |
| Valiant | 1974-1975 | |
| Dart/Lancer | 1974-1975 | |
| Volare / Aspen (F) | 1976-1980 | |
| LeBaron / Diplomat (M) | 1977-1980 | |
| Reliant / Aries including wagons | 1981-1988 | |
| Acclaim / Spirit (AA) | 1989-1995 | |
| LeBaron / Saratoga (AA) | 1990-1995 | |
| LeBaron Coupe (J) | 1992-1993 | |
| LeBaron Convertible (J) | 1992-1995 | |
| Intrepid/ Concorde (overflow) | 1994-1996 | |
| Durango / Aspen | 1998-2008 |
St. Louis (Fenton, MO)
The St. Louis plant was closed in late 2008, leaving Windsor, the original and once again the sole minivan plant. The failure of the Chrysler Pacifica to gain traction coupled with lukewarm reception of the 2008 minivans sealed St. Louis’ fate, and the plant is unlikely to re-open unless Chrysler carries through on its threat to close Windsor. St. Louis has built many popular vehicles over the years.
Photos of a LeBaron Convertible being built at St. Louis
| Plymouth, Dodge | 1959-1964 |
| Valiant | 1960-1965, 1973-1976 |
| Lancer or Dart | 1960-1965, 1973-1976 |
| Belvedere / Monaco / Coronet | 1964-1976 |
| Barracuda | 1964-1965 |
| Charger | 1968-1970 |
| Volare /Aspen | 1976-1977, 1980 |
| LeBaron, Diplomat coupes | 1977-1981 |
| Caravelle coupe | 1977*-1981 |
| LeBaron/400/600 coupes/convertibles | 1982-86 |
| Aries and Reliant coupes | 1981-86 |
| Limousine, Executive | 1983-86 |
| Laser Daytona | 1984-86 |
| LeBaron Coupe and Convertible | 1987-91 |
| Caravan, Voyager, Town & Country | 1996-2008** |
* Model year 1978 ** Model year 2009
San Leandro (closed in 1954)
Plymouth, 1949-1954; Dodge, 1948-1954. Production ended during the 1954-to-1955 model year changeover as Chrysler Corporation sales had plunged — due, according to differing opinions, to the stubby shape of the 1953-54 models, the lack of a sufficiently powerful engine, and lateness in producing an automatic transmission. A number of strikes may have held back production, but Chrysler had adjusted production downwards early in the year due to limited customer demand, so the strikes may not have had a great impact.
Saltillo, Mexico
1995-present, Dodge Ram trucks
Derek Strohl wrote that the Saltillo plant was originally intended to replace the 1930s-era Lago Alberto, which had pollution discharge issues and could not use water-based paint due to the size of the facility. Negotiations with Mexico resulted in a compromise, and by the time the Saltillo plant was built, Lago Alberto had been brought largely into compliance; it was closed largely due to Daimler’s takeover. Saltillo remains in production, building Dodge Ram trucks.
Derek noted that the Saltillo factory has a zero-discharge policy; water coming out of the plant is no dirtier than the drinking water, and indeed, it produces a surplus of clean drinking water that is put into the municipal water system. Wastes are handled with an on-site treatment plant, and confined in a hazardous waste landfill near Monterrey.
The Saltillo plant was recognized in 1997 for producing the highest quality Chrysler trucks.
Sterling Heights
LeBaron GTS/Lancer; Shadow/Sundance/Duster; Daytona; Cirrus/Stratus/Breeze; Stratus/Sebring; Avenger/Sebring. To be closed by December 2010. See our Sterling Heights factory page which covers the assembly plant (SHAP) and the stamping plant.
Trenton Engine Plant
In December 2008, “superduckie” wrote:
There are two block lines for the 3.3 liter engines, Department 621 and 521. Department 621 was installed as a combination 3.8 and 3.3 line. It had a number of upgrades, with machines that had major rebuilds or replaced. 621 was given a new final hone (for better bores to help meet emissions requirements), a new or upgraded final bore, major rebuild rought bore, and a new OP 40 (the first transfer machine in the line), all in its last 4-5 years. The line makes 3.8 liter engines because it can outproduce Department 521, which only makes 3.3 liter engines.
Department 521 started life as the 3.5 liter block line; it was converted to the 3.8 liter engines when the iron-block 3.5 was ended (and was later converted to the 3.3). It has been upgraded with many of the same items as 621.
A new 3.8 liter crank line was installed around 1996; the old one got new final lappers (for better microfinish) and a number of rebuilds and upgrades. Two nice Landis finish main bearing grinders which were about 1.5 years old were taken from the old 2.0 Neon line and reworked for the 3.3 / 3.8’s old crank line, in 2007. The cam line had the lobe mills rebuilt in-house, which helped cam quality a lot.
Department 638 (the 3.3 / 3.8 liter assembly line) had extensive work before the RT minivan and Jeep Wrangler Unlimited came out; the 4.0 liter aluminum engine is now made on the old, rebuilt 3.5 liter aluminum engine tooling and assembly line. They put in a new finish crank line and re-used the “old new” final lapper. (Someone else can tell the story about the train wreck. Noone got hurt in that event, thank God.)
Twinsburg, Ohio
Stamping plant, opened 1956. Twinsburg stamping plant page.
Toledo
Old Toledo North plant: 1994-95 Dakota.
New Toledo North plant: 2001-present, Liberty; 2006-present, Dodge Nitro
Toledo South plant: 1986-present Jeep Wrangler
Toluca, Mexico
| Aries, Reliant, Magnum coupe / sedans | 1984-89 |
| LeBaron, Phantom coupes | 1987-94 |
| Spirit, Acclaim, LeBaron | 1990-94 |
| Neon | 1994-99 |
| PT Cruiser | 2001-? |
| Journey | 2008- |
Warren Avenue
The Warren Avenue (Detroit) plant was built by Paige-Detroit Motor Co. in the mid-1920s; it was used by Paige-Detroit and then by Graham-Paige until 1947, when Chrysler bought the plant and used it for DeSoto body and engine production until 1959, when it switched to Imperial; after Imperial production moved back to Jefferson, the plant was used for small parts production for a few years. Bill Watson wrote that the plant made DeSoto engines from 1950 to 1957, as well.
- DeSoto 1947-1958
- Imperial 1959-1961
- Small parts production, 1961-(1960s)
Warren (Dodge City) truck plant
- 1939-1972 (?) - Dodge trucks
- 1987-present: Dodge Dakota trucks (includes Mitsubishi Raider, 2005)
- 1972-1977 B-vans
- 1974-1985 Ramcharger trucks
CNT900 wrote: “There was another Warren plant that produced the heavy duty Dodge diesels up until 1975. I think that plant was sometimes called Sherwood?”
There was a Burt Road Export Plant on 12640 Burt Road.
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario assembly plant complex
Wyoming Avenue
Built by the Saxon Motor Corporation (builders of a small car backed by Hugh Chalmers) in 1919. After Saxon went under, GM bought the plant for export business. Purchased by Chrysler in 1934, it was converted and expanded for car assembly in 1936 (calendar year).
- DeSoto - 1936-1958
- Export production (CKD) from 1960 through 1980.
Other plants
scook6 wrote: “The assembly plant in Venezuela was opened in 1938 (I believe) and closed in 2002. It originally assembled knock-down kits but later became a full assembly plant. My 2002 Dodge Ram was made there.”
The plant in Venezuela started building third-generation Jeep Cherokees (Libertys) in 2007; it had been making various Jeep and Mercedes models for years.
Indianapolis Shadeland Ave. Electrical plant: closed in the 1970s
Gary W. added: The Maxwell plant in Dayton, Ohio was converted to become the home of the Airtemp Division which became Chrysler Dayton Thermal (after the sale of Airtemp in 1976), then Acustar Dayton Thermal, then Chrysler Dayton Thermal, then DaimlerChrysler Dayton Thermal, then Behr Dayton Thermal. They also did some stuff there for Chrysler Defense. Another Airtemp plant was at 14226 Schaefer Hwy in Detroit.
A. Rutky wrote that (we’ve confirmed this) the plant built in 1969-1970 for non-automotive Airtemp manufacturing was shut down in 1976; the current Corvette plant has been on that site since 1982.
From atdetroit.net:
- Airtemp Division - 14226 Schaefer Hwy
- Burt Road Export Plant - 12640 Burt Rd (Part of Warren complex)
- Clairpointe Pre-production Plant - 12217 Freud
- Conant Trim Plant - 7900 Jos Campau
- Detroit Universal Division - 6455 Kingsley, Dearborn (Closed around 1978; excellent quality U-joints)
- Wyoming Export Plant - 6000 Wyoming
- Hamtramck Assembly Plant and Trim Plant - 7900 Jos Campau (“Dodge Main”)
- Huber Ave Foundry - 6425 Huber Ave
- Detroit Forge Plant - 6600 Lynch Rd
- Eldon Ave Axle Plant - 6700 Lynch Rd
- Mack Ave Stamping - 11631 Mack Ave (Currently Mack Avenue Engine Complex)
- Outer Drive Stamping - 3675 E Outer Dr (Renamed Mt. Elliott and converted to tool and die making)
- Truck Engineering Office - 6565 E Eight Mile Rd, Warren
- Vernor Tool & Die - 12026 E Vernor Hwy (Operations moved to Mt. Elliott / Outer Drive, 1970s)
- Vernor Trim Plant - 12025 E Vernor Hwy (Closed, 1970s)
- Warren Stamping - 22800 Mound Rd, Warren; Warren Tool & Die - 8701 E Eight Mile Rd, Warren; Warren Office & Warehouse - 6565 E Eight Mile Rd, Warren
- Winfield Foundry - 9611 Winfield St
Briggs
“scatpackmopar” wrote: “I don't see any mention as to which Briggs plants became Chrysler plants after Chrysler bought out Briggs manufacturing in 1953. I know Briggs had plants in Michigan and Indiana. Before the buyout Briggs was the largest auto body maker in the world making cars for Chrysler, Plymouth, DeSoto, Dodge, Ford, Auburn, Packard and a few others. Briggs designers designed the 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt and a few Chrysler Imperials. The man who designed the Tucker was a former Briggs designer.”
Bill Watson wrote:
When Chrysler acquired Briggs's American car body operation in 1953 for $35 million, they acquired 12 plants. Briggs had built Plymouth bodies; Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler bodies were built by Chrysler, for the most part. Over the years the majority of the plants were closed and sold off. The big move came with the change to unibody construction. With unibody, all body operations moved into the assembly plants. The Evansville body plant was closed in 1959, for example, when replaced by the St. Louis plant. The Briggs Youngstown (OH) stamping plant was replaced by a bigger operation in Twinsburg, Ohio, in 1956. The body plant was closed with the expansion of the Newark and Lynch Road plants.
A number of the Detroit facilties were used, although one, on Conner Avenue, was sold to Packard. The plant built Packard bodies and for the 1955 model year Packard moved all body/chassis operations there. The Grand Boulevard plant, site of auto assembly operations for over 50 years, totaled 4.5 million square feet. That was replaced, and combined with body building operations, with the 1 million square foot Conner plant. To say Packard had problems would be an understatement.
A Briggs stamping operation in Detroit, on Mack Avenue, became a Chrysler stamping plant until it was converted to build Vipers and then converted again to make engines. Read more about the Mack Avenue plants.
More facilities
The company noted (2006):
Manufacturing Facilities:
14 assembly plants, 11 powertrain plants, three stamping operations and six technical centers in North America; six manufacturing affiliations outside North America
Test Facilities:
Technology Center; Auburn Hills, Mich.
Chelsea Proving Grounds; Chelsea, Mich.
Arizona Proving Grounds; Wittmann, Ariz.
International Operations:
Chrysler Group International manages the marketing, sales and service of Chrysler Group vehicles in more than 125 countries outside North America. Vehicles are produced at facilities in Austria, China, Egypt, Germany, Taiwan and Venezuela.
Canada has approximately 475 dealers, an aluminum casting plant in Etobicoke, Ontario; a research and development center in Windsor; and has sales offices and parts distribution centers throughout the country.
Joint Ventures:
- Arab American Vehicles Company – Assembles Jeep Cherokee (Liberty) for the Egyptian market and Jeep Wrangler Military (TJ-L) for the Egyptian Army (Cairo, Egypt)
- Beijing Benz – DaimlerChrysler Automotive Ltd. – Produces 300C and Jeep Cherokee for the Chinese market (Beijing)
- China Motor Corporation – Produces Chrysler Town & Country for the Taiwanese market (Yang Mei, Taiwan)
- Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance LLC – A joint venture with Hyundai and Mitsubishi Motors to manufacture 1.8-, 2.0- and 2.4-liter engines (Dundee, Mich.)
- Tritec Motors Ltd. – Produces 1.4- and 1.6-liter gasoline engines for Chrysler and BMW (Mini) vehicles (Curitiba, Brazil)
Manufacturing Operations/Affiliations:
- Magna Steyr – Contract assembly of the Chrysler Voyager/Grand Voyager, Chrysler 300C Sedan/Touring, Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee (Graz, Austria) Minivan production stopped in 2007.
- Carabobo Assembly Plant, DaimlerChrysler de Venezuela – Assembles Jeep Cherokee (Liberty), Jeep Grand Cherokee, and some Mercedes (Valencia, Venezuela)
- Wilhelm Karmann GmbH – Contract assembly of the Chrysler Crossfire models (Osnabrück, Germany)
Some manufacturing executives in 2007:
- Frank Ewasyshyn, Executive Vice President—Manufacturing
- John Franciosi, Senior Vice President—Employee Relations
- Richard Chow-Wah, Vice President—Powertrain Manufacturing
- John Felice, Vice President—Advance Manufacturing Engineering
- Bryon Green, Vice President—Truck and Activity Vehicle Assembly
- Roberto Gutierrez, Vice President—Manufacturing and Assembly Operations, Mexico
- Fred Goedtel, Vice President—Transmission/Casting/Machining Operations
- Bruce Coventry, President—Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance
- Alfredo (Fred) Antenucci, General Manager—Powertrain Engine, Foundry and Casting Plants
- Warren D. Miller, General Manager—Stamping Operations
- Brian Harlow, General Manager—Transmission/Axle/Machine
Key factory pages at Allpar
- Assembly plants:
- Windsor, Ontario assembly plant complex
- Preparing Windsor for the 2008 minivans: flexible manufacturing, work teams, and more
- Dodge Main
- Sterling Heights Assembly and Stamping plants
- Lynch Road Plymouth-DeSoto plant (1928-1980)
- Maxwell / Chrysler New Castle plant (1907-1924 Maxwell, 1924-2002 Chrysler, 2002-? Metaldyne)
- AMC / Nash El Segundo Plant Photos and Story
- Conner Avenue (Viper and Prowler) Assembly Plant
- Belvidere Assembly Plant
- Windsor, Ontario assembly plant complex
- Support plants:
- Twinsburg stamping plant
- Mack Avenue engine complex
- Mt. Elliott Tool & Die / Outer Drive Stamping
- Sterling Heights Assembly and Stamping plants
- Factory photo pages:
- 2009 Dodge Ram being produced
- 1995 Neon being assembled (Belvidere)
- The last St. Louis Chrysler LeBaron Convertible
- Jefferson Avenue and Jefferson North
- Newark Assembly Plant
- Windsor, 1975: Chrysler Cordobas and Dodge Chargers
- Other facilities
- Chrysler Technical Center / Auburn Hills Complex
- Plymouth Road Office Complex (PROC / JTE)
- Corporate Office and Display Building, 12220 Jefferson Avenue (1933-????)
- Arizona Proving Grounds (2008) — both Wittman and Yucca
- Summaries and listings
- Working at a factory
- Dave Tyjeski (2009)
- Bill Wetherholt (2009)
- Matt Wetherholt (2009)
- Several views (2002)
- Teamwork (1998)
