FCA Invests $ 4.5 Billion In Michigan Plants For New Models Of Jeep SUVs

DETROIT (Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV announced Tuesday that it would invest $ 4.5 billion in five factories for the construction of new models of Jeeps, in the hope of strengthening the brand and allowing it to to compete more effectively in the lucrative market of large SUVs currently dominated by Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.

The plants will also create 6,500 jobs in Michigan, Fiat Chrysler said about three months after GM announced plans to not award new products to five North American plants producing mostly less popular sedan models. GM workers and politicians, including US President Donald Trump, have been critical of GM's decision to close the factories.

The FCA plans to convert an engine plant in Detroit into an assembly plant. The company also canceled its decision to move heavy truck production from Mexico to Michigan in 2020, releasing the Michigan facility for the production of Jeep models.

The automaker said the projects included investments to allow three Michigan plants to produce hybrid and fully electric Jeep models.

FCA plans to begin construction of the new Detroit facility in the third quarter of 2019 and begin production of a new three-row SUV by the end of 2020, followed by a redesigned version of the Grand Cherokee in the first semester of 2021.

The automaker will also begin production of its Wagoneer model and the Grand Wagoneer, a new three-row luxury SUV, in a Warren plant in the first half of 2021. Early last year, FCA had announced its intention to move heavy truck production to this plant, but it will now remain in the company's plant in Saltillo, Mexico.