A 7-passenger Dodge will share the '11 Grand Cherokee's platform -- but with a unique body.
Chrysler chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne confirmed the automaker plans to build a 7-seat Dodge sport utility vehicle off the same platform developed for the new Jeep Grand Cherokee.
In a conversation after the official launch of the Grand Cherokee at Chrysler’s Jefferson Assembly Plant in Detroit, on Friday, Marchionne said the Jefferson plant would be ready to start building the Dodge SUV by the end of the year. The CEO, who also runs Chrysler’s Italian partner, Fiat, specified that the Dodge vehicle will have a very different body than the 2011 Grand Cherokee now rolling off the assembly line.
“Grand Cherokee is a signature vehicle for Chrysler,” stressed Marchionne, who also announced that Chrysler will be adding a second shift at the Jefferson assembly plant in mid-July. It will hire 1,100 workers to man that additional shift.
(Click Here for more on the $700 million remake of Jefferson North.)
Marchionne said Chrysler already has enough orders for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee to support the second shift. In addition, Chrysler, with Fiat’s help, also planned to step up exports of the Jeep to other markets around the world.
Boosting exports is one of the targets set by the Obama Administration as part of the federal bailout of Chrysler. Fiat currently owns a 20% stake in the long-trouble American automaker, but can boost that figure to 35% if it meets all the various requirements.
The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which goes on sale in July, is the most significant launch set for Chrysler this year. But the addition of a new SUV will be critical, as well, for the resurrection of the Dodge brand, industry analysts suggested.