- The massive investment includes a $500-million retooling and expansion of Chrysler's Toledo Jeep plant.
- Chrysler confirmed the Liberty will be replaced in model year 2013 by a new D-segment model.
- The new Jeep will be exported to markets around the world.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Chrysler said it will invest $1.7 billion to develop and build a successor to the Jeep Liberty, including $500 million to retool and expand the Jeep assembly plant here.
Chrysler confirmed the Liberty will be replaced in model year 2013 by a new D-segment model that will be exported to markets around the world.
It said the remainder of the $1.7-billion investment will be spent on other Chrysler facilities in the U.S. as well as supplier tooling and related development costs for the new model.
The Toledo North Assembly Plant builds the 2012 Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro. The Toledo announcement suggested there is no replacement planned for the Nitro.
Work on the plant will begin before year-end and will continue through 2012, Chrysler said. The company plans to add a second shift and hire additional workers in 2013.
Inside Line says: Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne, the head of corporate parent Fiat, also confirmed that the Jeep Wrangler will remain in Toledo for the foreseeable future.
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speeddemon086 says:
07:21 PM, 11/21/2011
Hmm... I guess its a good decision but with the stylings and the "rebuilt" chrysler I am a little sketchy on how its gonna turn out.
openeyes1 says:
03:32 PM, 11/21/2011
@miscpippa; Sadly true, as the word 'Active' in America applies to those Americans butts, that are 'Actively' expanding, ending up more and more in SUV's and Pickups, instead of the hiking the trail!
sniperruff says:
01:01 PM, 11/21/2011
IMO both cars are pretty crappy, but seriously it's not like they throw $1.7B in the pacific for a model - they are building a plant. It'll be there, available for other models as well.
miscpippa says:
12:08 PM, 11/21/2011
The 'active' lifestyle: Sit on your butt in a Jeep.
stress83 says:
10:30 AM, 11/21/2011
@publicmat:
You can take the money you're not spending on a Jeep Liberty and put it towards an economics class. Problem solved.
openeyes1 says:
10:27 AM, 11/21/2011
Maybe the new Jeep Liberty will finally break the 16MPG city barrier, better yet Chrysler may finally liberate America from its line of Gas Hogs once and for all... Naw, never happen...
blueprint1 says:
10:03 AM, 11/21/2011
Automotive News confirmed that the Liberty replacement will be built on a Fiat platform. Having driven a rental Nitro, I read that as a good move!
tjfromphilly says:
09:16 AM, 11/21/2011
Wow, what a negative comment from publicmat. Honestly, $1.7b isn't that big a number. Consider the current Liberty sold around 990,000 copies over ten years just in the US. Add another 150,000 Nitros, and if sales figures remain steady, a $500m tooling cost works out to about $500 per unit sold in the US, and the remaining $1.2b redesign effort works out to well under $1000 per vehicle sold worldwide (anyone have a rough estimate of worldwide sales?). The modernized plant should have inherently lower production costs (otherwise why modernize at all) and will keep Chrysler at least on the same playing field as its competitors. I'm no fan of the current shoddy Chrysler lineup, but jeez, try doing a little math before attacking them for ruining the economy. Maybe if they spend some money up front on a vehicle, they'll come out with something worth buying. I don't see how putting the same small amount of money into the current pile of chrysler turds would be a better option than starting from scratch.
carguy444 says:
09:00 AM, 11/21/2011
First off every automaker pretty much refreshes a model every two to four years with a full redesign every every four to six years. Its just to keep of with technology and consumer demand. Not because the product is bad. And that plant is out of date. In order to keep quality up to bar with competition the plant needs some TLC. That's why so much and its not wasteful considering the liberty is a fair percentage of jeep sales. Just saying.
publicmat says:
08:49 AM, 11/21/2011
1.7 Billion for a new Jeep. Really? Is this what our priorities have come too. If Jeep can invest this much and still see a profit, the product is too expensive for the consumer. Ridiculous and irresponsible. Ask yourself, if Jeep didn't make this vehicle but instead invested the money in making the other skews in the line better, wouldn't we be better off? Or hell, spend some of that on a failing economy. With all the marketing they have that leverage their patriotism and american spirit, surely that money could be better spent? I understand the pursuit of profit, but we as consumers need to recognize the wastefulness of our spending. This announcement did it for me. No 'New Jeep Liberty' in my driveway. How many times do we need to remake the car before it becomes good enough? Why do they keep getting it wrong? So wrong that they need to fix it every three or four years? Consumer desires change and mine are changing in the opposite direction.