Potential Jeep production in China will not affect Toledo - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Jeep sales continue to drive in big numbers for Chrysler and because of the strong demand a national publication is reporting that some production may be expanded to China. According to a Chrysler spokesperson, if Jeep production is expanded to China it will have no effect on Jeep operations here in Toledo.

In 2009, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne spelled out long term growth plans for the Jeep brand with a goal of selling 800,000 vehicles a year, worldwide by 2014.

The spokesperson says with limited room at the automaker's North American facilities the major expansion will obviously have to be elsewhere. China is the world's largest auto market.

A recent article in Bloomberg news reports that Fiat, the majority owner of Chrysler, is in detailed conversations with a Chinese automobile group about building Jeeps there.

According to Chrysler, the goal is to sell 500,000 cars outside North America by 2014, which is more than triple its international sales just three years ago.

Right now, all Jeeps are built in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. The iconic Wrangler is made here in Toledo, and a brand new Jeep SUV is set to roll of the lines at the Toledo Assembly Complex next year.

The spokesperson says any production that may happen in China will not affect production or the workforce here in Toledo.

A Chrysler statement says, "Should we produce Jeep vehicles in China, those vehicles would be to meet local market demand in order to avoid high import duties and tariffs."

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has said a number of times he is committed to the Toledo workforce and growing operations here.

Chrysler sent a statement about the Bloomberg article saying, "Bloomberg recently produced a story that led some to incorrectly believe that all Jeep production could shift to China from North America. That is not true, and Bloomberg quickly amended its story to eliminate any potential inaccurate perception. To be clear, Jeep has no intention of shifting production of its Jeep models out of North America to China".

Building Jeeps in China is nothing new. When Chrysler bought American Motors in 1987 it also took over control of Beijing Jeep. They stopped building Jeeps in China when Daimler sold Chrysler to Cerberus in 2007.