Back at the end of February, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced plans to invest a total of $4.5 billion in five of its existing Michigan plants and to work with the city of Detroit and state of Michigan on building a new assembly plant within city limits. The move would increase capacity to meet the growing demand for its Jeep® and Ram brands, including the production of two new Jeep-branded white space products, as well as electrified models. The proposed projects would create nearly 6,500 new jobs.
FCA has now officially announced that it has been given the green light by the State of Michigan and City of Detroit, to convert the two plants that make up the current Mack Avenue Engine Complex, into a future site for the production of the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee as well as the new three-row E-segment Jeep SUV. The plant will also build a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) of the next-generation Grand Cherokee. FCA plans to start construction of that plant by the summer of this year. The all-new three-row Jeep will begin production at the end of 2020, while the all-new Grand Cherokee will be out in early 2021.
“Thanks to the strong support of Governor Whitmer, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and city of Detroit, I am pleased to confirm that plans to invest in our Jefferson North Assembly Plant and build a new state-of-the-art assembly plant in Detroit have been given the green light. At FCA, we are continuing to build a secure future, not only for our Company but also for the communities in which we operate. This investment enables us to deliver on this promise in the state and city we call home,” said Mark Stewart, Chief Operating Officer, FCA – North America in an official statement released yesterday.
Along with Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP), which the current home to the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango production. The plan is to invest more than $900 million to retool and modernize the plant, to continue to build the current generation Dodge Durango as well as the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. FCA expects to add 1,100 new jobs to JNAP.
With the addition of the reconfigured Mack facility, it would be the first new assembly plant in the city of Detroit, since JNAP opened in 1991. The two plants would be the only two assembly plants, located in the city limits of Detroit.
