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New Jeep Wrangler May Be Made from Aluminium, Moving Production Out of Toledo The next Jeep Wrangler may be made with an aluminium body rather than steel. Major changes to the popular SUV will likely move production away from Toledo, Ohio, where Jeep has had its roots for more than 70 years since the first Willys MD was produced for the Army. Fiat Chrysler Automotives CEO Sergio Marchionne hinted that the Wrangler may also be made with a unibody chassis, not a frame, more like the type Range Rover uses for luxury SUVs. Marchionne said smaller engines will also be necessary to boost the fuel economy of the Jeep Wrangler, which is one of the top-selling models from Chrysler with about 18 mpg. Sponsored Links The change would be the greatest ever made to the Wrangler, which has roots that go back to the WWII Jeeps. Just last year, Jeep unveiled a concept vehicle, the Wrangler Stitch, with an aluminum floorpan, carbon fiber hood, translucent bodywork and a chrome moly roll cage, that weighed 800 pounds less than the steel Wrangler made today. “If the solution is aluminum, then I think unfortunately that Toledo is the wrong place because it requires a complete re-configuring of the assets that would be cost-prohibitive,” said Marchionne. “It would be so outrageously expensive that it would be impossible to work out of that facility.” The next Wrangler is due in 2017 and would benefit from a lighter aluminum body as Chrysler attempts to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles. Automakers are required to hit a fleet average of 56.5 mpg by 2025. A lightweight aluminum body would help the Wrangler meet the government’s goal of doubling average fuel economy to 45 mpg. The suggestion of Jeep leaving Toledo within three years is causing a great deal of anxiety in the city. The Chrysler assembly plant that currently produces the Wrangler and Cherokee is one of the largest workforces in the region, employing more than 4,000 people. Marchionne has said that the company wants to preserve the Wrangler’s heritage as an American vehicle, which likely puts Chrysler auto plants in Canada and Mexico off of the table. Currently, two plants in Illinois are able to produce unibody SUVs and cars. Marchionne has said the changes to the Wrangler are still under consideration, but he stressed that no jobs will be lost. He did not, however, indicate what can replace the 223,000 Wranglers that are produced every year at the Toledo plant, which is one of the busiest in all of North America.