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FCA May Scrap Plan to Move Pickup Production from Mexico
CEO Mike Manley says Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV may reverse a decision to shift production of heavy-duty Ram 1500 pickup trucks from Mexico to Michigan in 2020.
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CEO Mike Manley says Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV may reverse a decision to shift production of heavy-duty Ram 1500 pickup trucks from Mexico to Michigan in 2020.
Instead, FCA may scrap the $1 billion plan it announced last January and hike pickup production at both locations, Manley tells Automotive News.
FCA announced the original move in pickup production from Saltillo, Mexico, to Warren, Mich., because President Donald Trump was threatening to impose 25% import tariffs on vehicles from Mexico. But that is no longer likely, now that the U.S, Mexico and Canada have reached tentative agreement on a new trilateral trade pact.
Meanwhile, FCA’s Ram sales are accelerating, thanks to a strategy of loading up the trucks with high-end features and electronics.
Manley tells AN his goal is to displace General Motors as the American market’s second-biggest seller of pickups. Last year FCA controlled 22% of the U.S. truck market, compared with 36% for Ford and 34% for GM.
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