Jeep Ramping Up Wrangler Production
Although history may remember the 300C as the car that truly saved Chrysler from complete and utter extinction in 2004, the Jeep Wrangler is really the vehicle that's been the brand's bread and butter ever since. Enviably popular, ridiculously practical, surprisingly cheap, and now even respectably luxurious, the Wrangler has done wonders for Jeep's image, and has brought the brand to previously unknown levels of success. And apparently, Jeep can't build them fast enough.
Enjoying a 30% sales increase from 2010 to 2011 in the U.S. and a 10% increase worldwide, the new 2012 model's much-lauded improvements have Mike Manley, Jeep's aptly named CEO, worried about his brand's ability to meet the rising demand. With just a single facility responsible for Wrangler production, Jeep has reached an agreement with the UAW to increase the facility's production by a further 100 vehicles per day. Already operating 20 hours a day for six days a week, the increased production will see an additional 50 employees moved from non-production-related duties to the assembly line, and will take effect in June of this year.
Perhaps most interestingly, the airing of this conundrum may finally explain Jeep's unwillingness to begin production of the long-rumoured Wrangler-based pickup truck. However, with the Dakota long dead, the Ranger soon to be, and the small- to mid-size pickup market starving for competition, the smart money is on the acquisition of another facility to bolster Jeep's production abilities and free up space for a pickup line.
