The latest scuttlebutt has the Dodge Journey moving from Mexico to Michigan during its next redesign – and that could leave Chrysler’s plant in Toluca, Mexico without any product.
The next-generation Journey, due in 2016, will apparently move to Chrysler’s plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where it will be built alongside the next generation Chrysler 200. Both will use the CUSW platform platform currently employed by the Jeep Cherokee and Dodge Dart, and moving the Journey to Michigan means that suppliers can take advantage of closer proximity to the three CUSW plants (Michigan, Toldeo, and Belvidere) to help keep costs down.
But according to Automotive News the move out of Mexico presents its own issues
The Journey has been built in Toluca, Mexico, in part to allow for export to South America and Europe, where it is rebadged and sold as the Fiat Freemont. Current trade agreements mean that producing the Freemont in the United States would translate to higher sticker prices for the vehicle in Europe and South America.
Before the Journey leaves, production of the Fiat 500 will have packed up and gone to Poland – likely as a way to utilize excess capacity in Europe. But that means Toluca will have a giant hole in its product lineup, unless something new starts being made. Or Chrysler shifts production of a current product to Mexico.