Feb. 17, 2015—Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) is studying a proposal from officials in its Toledo, Ohio, Jeep Wrangler facility to double its size to roughly 3 million square feet, according to a report from Automotive News.
The proposal comes in the wake of rumors that Jeep was considering relocating its Wrangler operation, even though FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne promised that the 1,700 plant workers in Toledo wouldn’t lose their jobs if Jeep were to move Wrangler production elsewhere.
Toledo leaders presented an offer in the eight-figure range to raise the annual Wrangler production capacity to an estimated 350,000—almost identical to the unibody Jeep Cherokee built on another line at FCA's Toledo Assembly Complex. Last year, the plant built 235,904 Wranglers.
The next generation of Wranglers is scheduled to roll out during the first quarter of 2017, and rumors point that this batch of Wranglers will likely feature an aluminum body, which Marchionne has said might be too costly to produce in the dated Toledo plant.
The facility in Toledo has been manufacturing Wranglers for Jeep since 1941.
