Which Stellantis model could replace the Jeep Compass in Brampton? Experts have some ideas
For the 3,000 laid-off autoworkers at the Stellantis plant in Brampton, Ont., their future depends on one thing: having a car to build. Before this fall, that vehicle was supposed to be the Jeep Compass. But in mid-October, the company announced it was scrapping plans to assemble the SUV in Canada. Instead, the automaker’s idle facility in Belvidere, Ill., will build it — a move two industry observers who spoke with CBC view as a means of appeasing the Trump administration amid a costly trade war.Stellantis insists it’s working “constructively” with government officials and other stakeholders “on a plan for Brampton to find viable solutions that build a sustainable, long-term future for automotive manufacturing in Canada.”Still, the decision has been met with broad condemnation north of the border — because of both the workers it leaves in limbo and the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds the company has gotten in recent years. “When you look at what the company's done, they violated our contract, they violated the commitment with the provincial, federal government,” said Vito Beato, president of Unifor Local 1285, which represents workers at the plant. “If we let them get away with what's happening in Brampton right now, it'll just snowball to other facilities, so we can’t let it happen,” he said.One local expert says he feels confident Stellantis is working to replace the Compass in Brampton, though. “There's no reason that Stellantis would want to default on its Canadian commitments,” says Peter Frise, professor of mechanical and automotive engineering at the University of Windsor, which partners with the company on research and development. “Stellantis has been a great employer of Canadians, especially around here in Windsor, but also in the Brampton area and elsewhere in the country,” Frise said. “And I expect they will want that to continue. How that will go is really hard to say.”A new Chrysler crossover?So what could replace the Compass in Brampton? The company declined an interview request. “We will communicate outcomes after those discussions are completed,” a spokesperson said in a statement. But outside experts have some theories. One veteran forecaster says the auto giant — which owns more than a dozen brands, including Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram — could swap the Compass with a similarly sized Chrysler-branded crossover that’s been in the works behind the scenes. “Stellantis had planned an electric Chrysler model that was going to be built alongside the Jeep Compass,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions.“But because the transition to [electric vehicles] is slowing down and the incentives have gone away, a lot of plans are up in the air,” he said. “There's still the potential that Stellantis could put [an internal combustion] engine in this vehicle and bring it to the market.”Frise said he “had heard little rumours” of a Chrysler crossover being built in Brampton, too.He said vehicles are built on platforms that can host a wide range of models. “You could do a crossover or a small SUV, or possibly even a small pickup truck on the same platform as the Jeep Compass. So that plan, that rumour is credible in my view.” Peter Frise, automotive engineering professor at the University of Windsor, speaks about Stellantis on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (Emma Loop/CBC)Retooling on the Brampton plant to be able to assemble the Compass had already started, but halted abruptly in February — prompting concerns at the time about the company’s intentions. Chrysler’s CEO this past summer confirmed plans for a new Chrysler model, telling the Detroit Free Press that after it announces a new Pacifica minivan, the company will reveal “the first all new product coming from Chrysler in almost 20 years, and that “it’ll be a crossover vehicle.”She also said it won’t be an electric vehicle, as originally planned. “That first vehicle will launch with a hybrid [internal combustion] engine,” she said, adding that they will have the ability to make a fully electric version in the future as well if customer demand changes.Fiorani said the Chrysler brand has been looking at introducing new models because it only has one at the moment: the minivans made in Windsor. Crossovers are popular among buyers, too. WATCH | Chrysler brand celebrates 100 years with Belle Isle jaunt:Chrysler marked its 100th anniversary on Wednesday by taking some historic cars out for a spin on scenic Belle Isle in Detroit. The CBC's Michael Evans was there to check it out. “Chrysler has been withering on the vine there,” he said. “They have teased concept vehicles, we've seen crossovers, we've seen sedans. None of them have really reached the point where we're planning to see it in production, although we do have a couple models that are hinted at as being built in either Windsor or Brampton.”But the question of where that Chrysler vehicle will be built remains. Frise stressed that “future product plans are very hard to nail down with the car companies” because they are “very, very secretive” about those plans.“The only reason they ever say anything is they're really forced to by normally a political situation, which is what happened in this case,” Frise said, referring to the Trump administration’s efforts to force companies to invest in the U.S. Ongoing trade war will affect timing of news: expertFiorani said he doesn’t expect to see any official news from Stellantis until spring of 2026, “sometime after the U.S. and Canada have made amends and come up with a trade plan between them.”He said that timeline is based on the mandated review of the existing Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which must be done by July 1, 2026, as well as the expiry of Unifor’s current collective agreement with Stellantis in September. Sam Fiorani, an auto industry analyst with AutoForecast Solutions in Pennsylvania. (Submitted by Sam Fiorani)“The problem right now is that investing anything in Canada irritates the Trump administration,” Fiorani said.“Stellantis, General Motors, Ford are all in a position where they want to announce new products for Canada,” he said. “But as soon as they announce any investments in any plant in Canada, that investment should have gone to the U.S., according to the Trump administration. So making any announcement is a problem politically until they have ironed out a trade agreement.”Beato, the Brampton union head, said Stellantis has told them it has “big plans for Brampton,” and even invited him to their offices to see what the company has in mind — but that the plans are “contingent on tariff relief or a CUSMA deal.”Beato said they also have a “credibility problem” with Stellantis now because of the Compass decision, which the union has called “an egregious violation of the company’s collective agreement commitments.”“But maybe we take that opportunity to go see [Stellantis CEO] Antonio Filosa...and have a meeting with him after that to, you know, flesh things out and have an old school meeting, and get to the bottom of this and start building cars in Brampton, because we can't be sitting idle.” Beato says it’s a smart business decision to build cars there because of the existing skilled workforce and lower costs, due to the public health care system and weaker Canadian dollar.“The community would be devastated if we don't have our Brampton assembly plant there, so we all got to be rolling in the same direction,” he said. “It's going to affect us all if we don't win this battle. So we got to win this battle.”
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