Stratis reportedly selling Arizona test site

After recent huge losses in the U.S. marketStellantis is looking to cut costs, and one of the items being cut is the automaker’s massive proving ground in Yucca, Arizona.

CNBC quoted three people familiar with the matter as saying on October 18 that Stellantis has decided to close the site before the planned sale and will use the Toyota Proving Ground in Arizona that Toyota will open to other companies in 2021.

Stellantis confirmed to CNBC in a statement that the site will be shut down and said the remaining 41 employees will be relocated or offered severance packages.

In 2007, Chrysler, which owns the Stellantis brand, acquired the Yucca plant from Ford for about $35 million. Spanning over 4,000 acres, it is where extensive durability and NVH testing takes place.

The company has been slowly reducing its U.S. workforce since Stellantis was formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and France’s PSA Group. According to CNBC sources, the layoffs are due to Stellantis increasing its outsourcing of work to lower-cost countries such as Brazil, India and Mexico. Some factory workers have also been laid off, including 1,100 currently being laid off at a plant in Warren, Michigan, where Stellantis has been building the Ram 1500 Classic. The plant will continue to produce Jeep’s Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.

Chief Executive Carlos Tavares also warned in July that some of Stellantis’ 14 brands could be eliminated if they continued to underperform. His warning came after the company reported a 48% year-on-year drop in net profit earlier this month.

The sales decline was largely due to lower U.S. sales, and dealers were angry about some of the tactics Tavares executed. An open letter sent to Tavares in August by the Strantis National Dealer Council listed many of their grievances. The letter included complaints about “reckless short-term decisions” being made to secure record profits in 2023, as well as the “rapid degradation” of Stellantis’ U.S. brands, which include Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

Tavares has just over a year to try to turn things around, with Strantis announcing in October that he would retire in early 2026 when his current contract expires. The company is already searching for a successor, who may be appointed by the end of 2025.

This article was originally published by ClassicCars.com editorial partner Motor Authority