Remember this? Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told reporters yesterday that the company plans to build more Jeeps in China.
The Detroit News reports:
“As part of our global expansion of the Jeep brand, there are some cars — that because of the price position in the market — can never be made in the U.S. and exported,” Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show. “We’re going to be announcing the first step in the globalization of Jeep (in China). There’s another one that’s going to come in Russia. These things are part of a natural process of expansion.”
Marchionne angrily criticized Presidential candidate Mitt Romney for running ads suggesting that Jeep was shifting American jobs to China.
“I feel obliged to unambiguously restate our position: Jeep production will not be moved from the United States to China,” Marchionne wrote at the time. “Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand. … It is inaccurate to suggest anything different.”
During yesterday’s press conference, Marchionne signaled that production of the Jeep Wrangler and the Jeep Grand Cherokee would remain in the United States, but vehicles like the Jeep Patriot might be produced in China.
