Chrysler CEO, governor talk future of Jeep in Ohio

TOLEDO— Ohio’s governor and the mayor of the state’s fourth-largest city talked with the head of Chrysler over the weekend about the future of the Toledo-built Jeep Wrangler, just days after the automaker indicated production could be moved when a new model comes out.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said last week that reconfiguring and keeping the Wrangler assembly line in Toledo may be too costly if the new design includes an aluminum body.

The suggestion that the Jeep could be made somewhere else within three years is causing anxiety in the city where the vehicles first began rolling off the assembly line during World War II.

The Chrysler assembly plant that produces the Wrangler along with the Cherokee has one of the largest workforces in northwest Ohio, employing more than 4,000.

Marchionne told Automotive News last week at the Paris Car Show that a different vehicle could be built in Toledo if Wrangler production is moved. The automaker still has a commitment to the city and the state, he said.

“I don’t have a doubt that there will be zero impact on head count and employment levels and anything else,” Marchionne said, who made a pledge last January that the Wrangler would not be built outside of Toledo as long as he was the CEO.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins spoke with Marchionne during a conference call Sunday.

A statement from the mayor’s office said no commitments were made, but both sides have agreed to keep talking. Collins and Kasich are hoping to arrange a sit-down meeting soon with Marchionne.