The fate of where the next-gen Jeep Wrangler will be assembled may have been settled, thanks to the fact that there will be no unibody Wrangler anytime soon.
Automotive News reports sources from inside and outside Fiat Chrysler Automobiles have stated the 2017 Wrangler will remain body-on-frame, meaning the Toledo, Ohio plant responsible for the icon's production won't see it head elsewhere for now.
As for going aluminum to help make weight in the CAFE fuel economy competition, CEO Sergio Marchionne says it's still a possibility for the next Wrangler to use the metal so long as production costs are manageable, which may also mean trouble still for Toledo:
If the solution is aluminum then I think unfortunately Toledo is the wrong set up to try and build a Wrangler because it requires a complete, a reconfiguring of the assets which would be cost prohibitive. I mean it would be just be so outrageously expensive for us to try and work out that facility.
Further, the switchover would stop Wrangler production completely — the Toledo plant, which is already operating above capacity, is the only plant where Wranglers are made — eating away at both dealer inventory and corporate profits. The current forecast shows 235,000 units leaving Ohio by the end of 2014, the third consecutive year of record high production.
The post 2017 Jeep Wrangler To Remain Body-On-Frame appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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