Many cheers could be heard at Chrysler's Toledo Assembly Facility last week. The cause for celebration was the commencement of production for the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. After a one-month delay, the plant will now be producing about 150 units on a daily basis. This will keep it at a pace that is just slightly under its target to produce a total of 275,000 units annually.
By cranking production up to 1,000 units a day, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee will be at full capacity as the automaker prepares to sell the model in 150 different countries. About 1,100 more jobs will be added to the facility as a second shift goes into operation towards the end of August.
The plant underwent a $500 million expansion and renovation specifically to bring the "Cherokee" name back to the lineup. This included the addition of a 225,000 square-foot body shop and quality control center, along with the installation of upgraded equipment and machinery.
Replacing the Jeep Liberty within the lineup, the Cherokee is anticipated to be the most important new release made this year by the Chrysler Group. As for what we can expect from the enhancements made, the Cherokee's all-new design is more aerodynamic and will greatly improve efficiency. It will be able to achieve an impressive fuel economy rating of about 31 miles per gallon on the highway.
To be kept in the loop regarding when the new Cherokee will make its way to our Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Missoula showroom, we encourage you to continue following our blog for all of the latest updates. Or if any of you in the greater Missoula, MT area are interested in checking out what our current new Jeep lineup has to offer, visit us today! We'd be happy to schedule test drives and assist you in every way that we can.