Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) recently announced a $1 billion investment in its truck assembly plant in Warren, Michigan, and its assembly complex in Toledo, Ohio, as well as the addition of 2,000 new jobs.
The announcement is the second phase of an industrialization plan announced in January 2016. The plan called for the realignment of the company's U.S. manufacturing operations to fully utilize available capacity to respond to a shift in market demand for trucks and SUVs and to further expand the Jeep and Ram brands.
With the $1 billion investment, FCA will retool and modernize the Warren Truck Assembly Plant to produce the all-new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, and the south plant of the Toledo Assembly Complex to build an all-new Jeep pickup truck. These actions are planned to be completed by 2020.
More than 2,000 jobs will be added to support production of these models. The investment in the Warren facility will also enable the plant to produce the Ram heavy-duty truck, which is currently built in Mexico.
"The conversion of our industrial footprint completes this stage of our transformation as we respond to the shift in consumer tastes to trucks and SUVs, and as we continue to reinforce the U.S. as a global manufacturing hub for those vehicles at the heart of the SUV and truck market," said Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of FCA N.V. "These moves, which have been under discussion with Dennis Williams and the rest of the UAW leadership for some time, expand our capacity in these key segments, enabling us to meet growing demand here in the U.S., but more importantly to increase exports of our mid-size and larger vehicles to international markets."
For more information, visit www.fcanorthamerica.com.
