Less than 24 hours after reports began to circulate that the long-rumored Jeep Wrangler–based pickup was seriously being considered for production, Automotive News has seemingly confirmed that the project is a go. The news, which comes tied to the announcement that Wrangler production will remain in Toledo, Ohio, was confirmed to AN by independent sources. According to the outlet, the vehicle is still under development and is slated to debut in either the 2017 or 2018 model year after the next-generation Wrangler. Car and Driver’s inquiries to various Jeep representatives for an official confirmation were met with a “no comment” response.
-Although FCA isn’t expected to make any additional official announcements or comments until the current round of talks with the UAW conclude, Sergio Marchionne divulged a small part of the plan to AN: “We found a solution that accommodates a variety of other interests to us because of the way in which we can move some product around,” the CEO said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist [to know] that the only way I can move around the Wrangler is to move it into the other Toledo plant.”
-Currently, the Toledo plant is made up of two facilities, one of which produces the body-on-frame Wrangler and one that assembles the unibody Jeep Cherokee. By shifting Cherokee production to another facility (such as the Belvidere, Illinois, plant that makes the Dart), the second Toledo line could then be retooled to assemble body-on-frame vehicles and bring the next-gen Wrangler online without stopping assembly. If a single Wrangler line was forced to retool, that could cause the off-road ute’s scorching-hot sales to cool off.
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In addition, the extra capacity could then be used to produce the new Wrangler-based pickup, or even possibly the Ram 1500 pickup, at least on a temporary basis, as Marchionne hinted at in the AN report: “We still have Warren that’s not fixed from a manufacturing standpoint.” Marchionne said his two constraints are “that I can’t take down a day of Wranglers, and I can’t take down a day of trucks. So I need to move them around.”
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No matter how the logistical needs are sorted, FCA has a vested interest in keeping the size of the Wrangler pickup close to that of the Wrangler Unlimited. This not only allows the pickup to cut development time and cost by utilizing components already developed for use in the Wrangler, but also prevents it from cannibalizing sales from the larger and also very successful Ram pickup line. After a decade of teasing, it seems an official, made-in-Toledo modern Jeep pickup may finally see the light of day.
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