Yahoo Autos Jeep Is Expanding Production to Build New Three-Row SUVs and Plug-In Hybrids
Four Jeep plug-in hybrids will be introduced beginning as early as 2021.
The Ram 1500 Classic will continue past 2019 due to high demand.
Jeep’s first three-row SUVs in years will begin production in 2020.
Jeep will introduce at least two new plug-in hybrids by 2021, along with an all-new Grand Cherokee and full-size Grand Wagoneer, as the SUV maker expands manufacturing to support the largest lineup in its history.
The first new three-row Jeep is an unnamed model built alongside the Jeep Grand Cherokee that will begin production in 2020. The Ram 1500–based Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer will start production in early 2021, the company said, with a new Grand Cherokee (based off the Alfa Romeo platform underpinning the Stelvio) arriving in the first half of 2021. Jeep will introduce plug-in hybrid versions of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models first, followed by two more hybrid models. Fully electric Jeep battery EVs will follow.
Fiat Chrysler confirmed a $4.5 billion investment to build a brand-new assembly plant within the Detroit city limits and to expand and retool five of its current Michigan plants. The expansion, of which at least $2.5 billion hinges on an unspecified amount of city and state tax incentives, will spur Jeep’s first dip into fully battery-electric vehicles as it relishes in record sales. Last year, Jeep sold 973,227 vehicles, its highest ever and a 17-percent gain over 2017. Jeep remains a cash cow for FCA as it struggles to meet demand for the new Wrangler. FCA said it plans to add at least 6500 jobs.
While controversial in 2016 when late CEO Sergio Marchionne announced FCA was killing production of the Chrysler 200 and Dodge 200, the automaker now has plenty of room for these new Jeep vehicles-so much so that it’s continuing to build the Ram 1500 Classic that’s based on the previous-generation model.
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