FCA plans new test track at Sterling Heights plant

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is planning to build a new test track, among other improvements, as it prepares to produce the next-generation Ram 1500 pickup at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Michigan, according to municipal government documents.FCA estimated it’ll spend $72.3 million for improvements at the Sterling Heights plant while spending an additional $940 million on machinery and equipment, according to the documents from the City of Sterling Heights.In addition to the $5.8 million test track and test track enclosure, the investments include $41.8 million to improve the south paint shop facility, $6.4 million for an addition to a frame-unloading area and $8.1 million in trim chassis final upgrades. The rest of FCA’s investment primarily will be for special tooling, machinery, equipment and other technologies that “enable the changeover of Sterling Heights Assembly plant from the Chrysler 200 platform to the Ram 1500,” documents said.FCA is applying for a 12-year, $23.3 million tax abatement to “ensure that FCA’s property taxes will not increase as a result of this significant investment,” documents said.Without the proposed abatement, Sterling Heights, north of Detroit, could collect nearly $12 million in school taxes and $6.6 million in city taxes.A public hearing and vote by the Sterling Heights City Council is scheduled for Tuesday night.The Detroit News reported on the test track on Monday evening.An FCA spokesman could not be reached for comment. An FCA spokeswoman declined to comment on details of the application to The Detroit News and told the newspaper that “we don’t have anything additional to share about those projects at this time.”Property improvements began last month and are expected to finish in August 2018, according to documents.In September, FCA won a $4.6 million grant to hire 700 employees at Sterling Heights Assembly by 2018. The new hires would be in addition to workers recalled from layoff.Crain’s Detroit Business contributed to this report.

FCA plans new test track at Sterling Heights plant

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