Chrysler Expected to Invest in Jeep Plants

Chrysler Corp. said it will invest $1.2 billion in a new Jeep assembly plant and existing facilities in Toledo, Ohio, ending months of speculation about the future of Jeep production there. Under a deal struck with state and local officials, Chrysler said it will build a new, 1.1-million-square-foot assembly plant next to its Stickney Avenue plant on Toledo’s north side. Construction of the $600-million plant is scheduled to start in 1998, with assembly of Jeep Cherokee and Wrangler sport-utility vehicles starting there in 2001. Chrysler will spend another $600 million to refurbish a 290,000-square-foot building on the Stickney site and make other improvements to its nearby Jeep Parkway plant. The investment ensures the future of the sprawling Toledo Jeep complex, the city’s largest employer, which has built Jeeps since the vehicle’s inception during World War II. Parts of the current factories were first built in 1910, making them among the oldest operating auto plants in the world. Toledo will grant the auto maker a 100% tax abatement on the value of plant equipment. The abatement is valued at about $86.5 million over 10 years. Chrysler shares rose 63 cents to close at $36.56 on the New York Stock Exchange.