Products come and products go at any manufacturer. That’s certainly the case at Fiat Chrysler, which has ceased production of one model and just begun production of another.
In one corner is the Chrysler 200, which The Detroit News reports reached the end of the line on Friday at the Sterling Heights Assembly plant in Michigan. In the other is the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, which the company announced has officially commenced production in Windsor, Ontario.
The 200 sedan has been on the chopping block since July, when FCA announced that it would discontinue the model sometime in December. The company initially sought a manufacturing partner to continue producing the model (along with the smaller Dodge Dart), but with none having stepped forward, the mid-size luxury sedan has reached the end of its life.
The current, second-generation model was only introduced in 2014. Its assembly line is currently being retooled to produce more profitable Ram 1500 trucks.
Meanwhile production of the Pacifica Hybrid has picked up just as the 200 was leaving off. Billed as “the industry’s first-ever electrified minivan,” the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is being built alongside its conventional counterpart as well as the aging Dodge Grand Caravan at the same Windsor Assembly Plant where some the automaker has built 10 million of its minivans since 1983.
Though the minivan does not, strictly speaking, take the place of the mid-size sedan, it does represent a shifting of priorities at FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, which is placing an increased emphasis on its larger vehicles, which are more appealing to customers.
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