FCA Opens Jeep Plant in Brazil

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV has officially inaugurated its new Jeep plant in Pernambuco, Brazil.

The $1.3 billion factory will employ 3,300 workers by year end and have capacity to make 250,000 Jeeps annually. An adjoining $1.1 billion supplier park houses 15 companies that employ another 4,900 people.

The first model being built in the 2.8 million-sq-ft factory is the Renegade mini-SUV, which shares its platform with the Fiat 500X mini-crossover vehicle.

The highly advanced plant boasts 700 robots and a configuration that will enable it to build three different models simultaneously.

Localizing production avoids Brazil's hefty tariffs on imported vehicles that boosted retail prices and held local sales to 7,300 units in 2014, according to the Detroit Free Press. The Brazilian plant is expected to supply markets throughout South and Central America.

The factory and adjoining $1.1 billion supplier park for 16 companies are part of FCA's plan to push worldwide sales of Jeeps from about 1 million units last year to 1.9 million in 2018.