Chrysler retools Ill. plant ...
#1
01-27-2005, 11:37 AM
Chrysler retools Ill. plant ...
i edited this down to make an easier read. the full story is here. i thought the new neon was just a concept. guess i was wrong.
Chrysler retools Ill. plant to match Asian efficiency
The $419 million overhaul could impact Sterling Heights factory.
By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News
Chrysler will invest $419 million in its Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant to prepare the factory for new vehicle launches next year that will create 1,000 additional jobs.
The move, expected to be announced today, is the latest in a string of investments by DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group as the automaker overhauls its factory operations to match industry-leading Japanese rivals in plant efficiency by 2007.
But the renovation also raises questions about a 2,600-worker Chrysler car factory in Sterling Heights. The revamped Illinois plant is expected to build a wagon-like replacement for the Dodge Neon compact beginning early next year and possibly two small Jeep SUVs. But it will also be flexible enough to build the next-generation Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus midsize sedans now made in Sterling Heights.
Chrysler has promised 16 new vehicles by the end of 2006, but has not decided which models will be built in Sterling Heights.
The 52-year-old factory needs a new model to replace the Sebring and Stratus being phased out next year.
The Belvidere plant, which opened in 1965, has been home to the Dodge Neon since 1993. Sales of the small car have flagged as competition has increased.
Belvidere's output has shrunk from 230,000 cars on two shifts in 2000 to 140,000 cars on one shift last year.
Chrysler will replace the Neon next year with a small crossover utility vehicle to be sold under a different name. It will be based on a new underbody developed with Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. The two automakers are also designing a new underbody for the Stratus and Sebring replacements.
Chrysler wants to be able to build the vehicles that share these underbodies in the same plants and at multiple locations.
Chrysler retools Ill. plant to match Asian efficiency
The $419 million overhaul could impact Sterling Heights factory.
By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News
Chrysler will invest $419 million in its Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant to prepare the factory for new vehicle launches next year that will create 1,000 additional jobs.
The move, expected to be announced today, is the latest in a string of investments by DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group as the automaker overhauls its factory operations to match industry-leading Japanese rivals in plant efficiency by 2007.
But the renovation also raises questions about a 2,600-worker Chrysler car factory in Sterling Heights. The revamped Illinois plant is expected to build a wagon-like replacement for the Dodge Neon compact beginning early next year and possibly two small Jeep SUVs. But it will also be flexible enough to build the next-generation Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus midsize sedans now made in Sterling Heights.
Chrysler has promised 16 new vehicles by the end of 2006, but has not decided which models will be built in Sterling Heights.
The 52-year-old factory needs a new model to replace the Sebring and Stratus being phased out next year.
The Belvidere plant, which opened in 1965, has been home to the Dodge Neon since 1993. Sales of the small car have flagged as competition has increased.
Belvidere's output has shrunk from 230,000 cars on two shifts in 2000 to 140,000 cars on one shift last year.
Chrysler will replace the Neon next year with a small crossover utility vehicle to be sold under a different name. It will be based on a new underbody developed with Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp. The two automakers are also designing a new underbody for the Stratus and Sebring replacements.
Chrysler wants to be able to build the vehicles that share these underbodies in the same plants and at multiple locations.
