It’s hard to imagine an automotive brand with a brighter future than Jeep.
After rocketing past 1 million worldwide sales in 2014, company officials have set their sights on reaching 2 million by 2018.
To be sure, that’s an aggressive target. Two million is more than 60 percent over last year’s worldwide total. But with sales records falling every month, one of the most recognized names in the industry, and a public that can’t seem to get enough crossovers and sport utility vehicles, there’s widespread belief from people both inside and outside the company that Jeep is entering its golden age.
Patrick Foster, an automotive historian and author who knows Jeep as well as anyone, said Fiat Chrysler Automobiles finally seems to have unlocked Jeep’s extraordinary potential both in the United States and abroad.
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“When they get production into more places and ramp up their production and get more models offered, you’re going to see another big growth spurt of Jeep,” said Mr. Foster, who has written four Jeep books, including Jeep: The History of America's Greatest Vehicle.
The United States accounts for almost 70 percent of all Jeep sales, but the company is working hard to get local production in more countries. Fiat Chrysler has started building Jeeps in Italy, Brazil, and China. The company hopes to have a plant in India running next year.
Jeep is also investing in the United States. Last month, the company committed to spending $350 million to a plant in Illinois and $700 million to the Toledo Assembly Complex. Toledo will build both the next-generation Jeep Wrangler, set to debut sometime in 2017, and a new Wrangler-based pickup, due the following year.
Once a small part of Jeep’s sales, the Wrangler has become a true powerhouse. U.S. sales topped 200,000 last year while the Toledo plant built almost 245,000.
Industry sources have told The Blade that production could increase to 350,000 with the new model, which company officials say will be more efficient without giving up capability.
Mark Allen, the top designer for Jeep, said people who like the current Wrangler should love the new one.
“It’s really a problem solving exercise where we just listed things that people do and don’t like,” he said. “We know what they do like about Wrangler, we know a lot about what they don’t like. We’re trying to fix that and also make it a very modern vehicle and cast a wider net.
“And it’ll always do what a Wrangler is supposed to do — into and out of a bad situation.”
Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com or 419-724-6134.
First Published August 7, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
