Jeep Will Stop Building Old Wranglers In April To Make Way For Pickup

Want to get your hands on a current-generation Jeep Wrangler before it’s gone? You still can, but you’d better act fast, because it’ll soon be phased out completely.

According to Automotive News, the Fiat Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, is slated to cease production of the JK-generation Wrangler on April 7.

FCA’s Toledo Assembly Complex has been building the new JL-generation Wrangler in parallel to the outgoing JK model since November. But come April, the old assembly line will be shut down and retooled to build the new Wrangler-based pickup for launch the same time next year.

The information was gleaned from paperwork filed with the state under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act by Hyundai Mobis North America. The supplier (one of the largest in the world) manufacturers the chassis for the JK Wrangler for final assembly at the Toledo plant.

Production of the new Wrangler is expanding by 60,000 units to about 300,000 per year. The pickup is expected to add another 100,000 to that number. Last year Jeep sold over 190,000 Wranglers in the United States alone, making it the second most popular model in its lineup after the Grand Cherokee (240k) and ahead of the standard Cherokee (170k).

The Jeep brand remains far and away FCA’s most successful in America, representing 828,522 units – or nearly half – of the 2,059,376 vehicles it sold in the US last year. In terms of individual models, only the Ram pickup was more successful than the Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Cherokee last year, with over 500,000 units sold.