FCA to Source New Jeep from Mexico

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will supply the U.S. market with the replacement for its Jeep Compass and Patriot small SUVs from its factory in Toluca, Mexico, according to Automotive News.

Pilot production of the new C-segment SUV will start in Mexico in May, and dealer deliveries are expected to begin this autumn. AN says output of Compass and Patriot models at FCA’s plant in Belvidere, Ill., will stop at year-end.

The new Jeep is expected to share its platform with the Fiat 500X mini-crossover and Jeep Renegade small SUV.

Jeep brand chief Mike Manley told Australian media late last month that the new Jeep will make its world debut this summer in Brazil. The vehicle will go into production there at the $1.3 billion Jeep plant FCA opened in Pernambuco a year ago. The facility, which currently builds the Renegade, has annual capacity to assemble 250,000 Jeeps for markets in South and Central America.