Fiat Chrysler is Investing $1.05 Billion in Ohio, Illinois Plants to Build More Jeep
The production of the Jeep Wrangler will move to the Toledo plant thanks to a $1.05 billion investment from Fiat Chrysler
Change is on the horizon for Fiat Chrysler and it couldn’t come soon enough. It’s no secret that the Italian-American carmaker has decided to focus on bolstering its Jeep lineup. This plan means there will be a lot of changes for the brand’s assembly plants in North America—and these changes are starting with a $1.05 billion investment in the brand’s Ohio and Illinois plants.
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In Illinois, the Belvidere Assembly Plant will see an investment of $350 million to allow it to manufacture the Jeep Cherokee. The Cherokee is currently produced in Toledo, Ohio. Fiat Chrysler’s plan is to move this production in 2017 and create about 300 new jobs. Production of the Jeep Cherokee will replace the Belvidere plant’s current production lineup of the Dodge Dart, Jeep Compass, and Jeep Patriot. Each of these three models will be discontinued.
While Fiat Chrysler’s Illinois plant is seeing a huge investment, the Italian-American carmaker’s investment in the Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio is even bigger. This production center will see an investment of $700 million, which will be used to retool the North plan so it can produce the next-generation Jeep Wrangler (and maybe the new Jeep Wrangler-based pickup truck?). Word of the changes Toledo South will see will come at a later date. With this $700 million investment, 700 new jobs will be created.
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The creation of these new jobs will align well with the brand’s CEO Sergio Marchionne’s promise that a change in Jeep production wouldn’t result in Toledo job losses.
This isn’t the first major investment Fiat Chrysler has made in recent years. Since 2009, the brand has invested more than $6.8 billion, while also adding more than 23,500 people in its United States operations.
News Source: Automotive News (subscription required)
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