Grand Wagoneer to launch in 2021 as FCA sinks US$4.5 billion into Jeep, Ram
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to invest US$4.5 billion to produce new Jeep models and boost Ram truck output, as it banks on selling more high-margin sport utility vehicles even as U.S. sales lose steam and a slew of rival offerings hit the market.
FCA is putting US$1.6 billion into its Mack Avenue engine plant in Detroit to produce the next-generation Grand Cherokee, and a new full-sized threerow Jeep with an optional plugin hybrid engine, chief executive Mike Manley said. It’s also spending US$1.5 billion on its Warren, Mich., truck plant to bring back the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates in early 2021, and continue production of its Ram 1500 Classic truck through this year.
Those models will hit the market at a time when crosstown rivals General Motors and Ford are relaunching storied models including the Ford Bronco and Chevy Blazer. And an unexpected sales slowdown for Jeep’s iconic Wrangler is already stoking concern that the American SUV boom fuelling Detroit automakers’ profit growth is reaching its limits.
Manley downplayed these concerns on a call with reporters, saying that entering segments where the company doesn’t have an offering — such as with the threerow SUV and the Grand Wagoneer — will allow Fiat Chrysler to keep growing.
Fiat Chrysler was the only one of Detroit’s three automakers to increase sales in a flat U.S. market last year, thanks to record deliveries for its Jeep and Ram brands. The company is trying to build on that momentum in 2019 with redesigned heavy duty Ram trucks and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup being introduced in the first half of the year.