--- title: "Stellantis Is Selling Off Its Massive Arizona Proving Grounds" date: "2024-10-20" modified: "2024-10-20" authors: - name: "Beverly Braga" job_title: "Weekend Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/beverly-braga" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/stellantis-is-selling-off-its-massive-arizona-proving-grounds" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Stellantis News" tags: - "Arizona" - "Chrysler" - "Proving Grounds" --- # Stellantis Is Selling Off Its Massive Arizona Proving Grounds ![]() *\Google Maps\* Everyone wants to save money, but automakers sure do things differently. On one end of the spectrum, you see [Volkswagen Group]() saving millions by [banning Porsche vehicles as corporate leases](). On the other end, [Stellantis]() opts to shut down an entire R&D facility. First reported by [*CNBC*](), the Stellantis Arizona Proving Ground will close by the end of the year. Located in Yucca, Arizona, a middle-of-nowhere desert town between Las Vegas and Phoenix, the R&D facility is spread across 4,000 acres. The site has a long history of testing and training and, naturally, [spy shots](). First used as a gunnery school and pilot training facility by the U.S. military, the location was sold to [Ford]() in 1954. The Blue Oval Company expanded the testing site before the facility changed hands again in 2007. Then-[Chrysler]() paid $35 million for the proving grounds, which include areas for pass-by-noise certification, NVH development, durability mileage accumulation tests, and an 18-acre section dedicated to vehicle dynamics. The Arizona proving grounds were instrumental in the development of performance vehicles, like the [Ram 1500 TRX](). The Arizona facility currently employs 41 people, 37 of whom are represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW). According to *CNBC*, the autoworkers union had no comment on the closure. However, although the UAW and Stellantis currently have a rather [tense relationship](), the Arizona shutdown isn't news to the labor union. The proving grounds, along with 17 other Stellantis locations, were discussed during last year's [contract negotiations](). Stellantis will not be leaving Arizona, though. Its hot-weather testing and other R&D operations will transfer to [Toyota's proving grounds]() in Wittman, an hour's drive northwest of Phoenix. The facility is new (built in 2021) and larger (approximately 12,000 acres), but maintaining such a massive facility isn't cheap, and [Toyota]() is more than happy to [share costs](). Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who will be retiring in 2026, has been on a tear with regard to global cost-cutting measures. In the U.S., he's reduced the headcount by 15.5 percent, or about 47,500 employees, since December 2019. And more layoffs are on the horizon. A dwindling product portfolio also no longer includes the [300](), [Challenger](), [Cherokee](), or [Renegade]() for the U.S. market. Tavares has been dismissive of [offers to buy out certain marques](), instead giving brands a couple more years to shape up or ship out, specifically [Chrysler]() and [Maserati](). But don't hold your breath because Tavares has been known to backtrack on things, [pushing timelines sooner]() rather than later. ## Author Born and raised in Hawaii, Beverly has been a prolific and published creative writer since her teens. As a contributor to The Drive, Beverly covers the weekend shift, blogging about all things automotive, mobility, transportation, and topics in-between. Currently a digital nomad, Beverly's only constant is her car, a second-generation Mazdaspeed3. Even though she's never in one place for too long, her hot hatch always feels like home. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()