We may love the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk‘s imposing styling and face-melting acceleration, but it’s also impossible to miss how dated the rest of the 707-hp SUV feels. And considering the current generation Grand Cherokee has been on sale for eight years, it’s safe to say the big Jeep could use a redesign. In two years, it sounds like that’s exactly what we’ll get.
The Detroit News reports that Jeep plans to introduce a new Grand Cherokee for the 2021 model year, meaning the current version will be a decade old by the time it goes out of production. To make it more appealing to families, the 2021 Grand Cherokee will reportedly offer third-row seating, as well. And in a move that Detroit residents are sure to appreciate, Jeep is said to revive an idle plant to build its next-gen SUV.
Mack Avenue Engine II, which has been idle since 2012, will reportedly be retooled to produce the new Grand Cherokee. According to The Detroit News, reviving the Mack Avenue plant will create about 400 jobs. It would also be the first new assembly line to open up in Detroit in 27 years. For workers affected by GM’s recently announced plant closures, the news of a new plant opening soon will likely come as a relief as they continue looking for jobs. Once the Mack Avenue facility comes online, FCA will reportedly begin retooling the Jefferson North Assembly Plant across the street to build two-row and three-row Grand Cherokees.
According to LMC Automotive, Fiat Chrysler’s plants are currently at 92-percent capacity, while GM and Ford are operating at 72 percent and 81 percent respectively. “FCA is essentially out of capacity,” Jeff Schuster, an analyst with LMC Automotive, told The Detroit News. “They’re kind of running up against being against full capacity. This is a very different situation than what GM is dealing with.”
As far as we’re concerned, that’s a pretty good problem for an automaker to have. Let’s just hope that FCA plans for one of these retooled plants to build a 2021 Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.
Source: The Detroit News
The post Next-Gen Three-Row Jeep Grand Cherokee Reportedly Coming for 2021 appeared first on MotorTrend.
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