FCA is moving production of the Jeep Cherokee from Ohio to Illinois as part of its production overhaul.
Fiat Chrysler N.V. is preparing to shut down production of the current Jeep Cherokee as soon as April in what will be a crucial step in preparing for the introduction of next generation Jeep Wrangler and the long-rumored Jeep pickup.
The shutdown of the Cherokee plant in Toledo, one of the most valuable in the FCA production system, has been in company’s plans ever since FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne announced a sweeping re-organization of the company’s production plants.
The transformation started last fall when FCA halted production of the Dodge Dart at the company’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. In December, the Belvidere plant also stopped building the Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass, which will be replaced this spring by an all-new replacement built in Mexico, while the FCA assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, also stopped building the Chrysler 200 in December.
The Belvidere plant is scheduled to build the next generation Cherokee, according to Marchionne, while the Sterling Heights plant is being re-tooled to build the next generation Ram 1500 pickup truck by the end of 2017.
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Production of the Jeep Cherokee in Toledo is expected to come to an end in early April as begins to prepare part of its plant here for the next-generation Jeep Wrangler, according to officials from UAW Local 12 in Toledo.
FCA is shutting down part of its massive Toledo manufacturing complex to retool it for the new Jeep Wrangler.
Local union officials told The Toledo Blade that Toledo Jeep, a relatively new plant that dates back to the 1990s, will be shut down for about six months as the company replaces tooling and adapts the assembly line for the body-on-frame Wrangler.
Fiat Chrysler hasn’t announced a launch date for that new Wrangler.
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Nevertheless, Bruce Baumhower, president of United Auto Workers Local 12, told The Blade normal production of the Wrangler could begin in November.
A second Jeep plant in Toledo, which builds the current-generation Jeep Wrangler will continue to operate as the larger plant retools, union officials said
All 5,000 full-time jobs at the Toledo Assembly Complex will be protected, according to the terms of the current UAW-FCA contract, which was signed in 2015.
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The Cherokee remains one of the Jeep brand’s best-selling vehicles, with 183,356 sold through November. However, the company had a 125-day supply of Cherokees going into December.