Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will start producing a Jeep pickup based off the Wrangler in late 2019, the first time the brand has produced a truck in more than 25 years.
The 2019 production timeline revealed by Jeep head Mike Manley was first reported by The Detroit News.
Rumors about FCA bringing back a Jeep pickup truck circulated for years, before Automotive News finally confirmed the plans back in 2015. The company hasn’t provided many details about the impending Jeep pickup, until now.
The upcoming pickup truck hasn’t been named yet. Manley and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne are considering some historical Jeep names, The Detroit News reported.
Jeep produced pickup trucks for decades, beginning in 1947, until it phased out its last iteration, the Comanche, in 1992. Its first pickup truck, the Willys-Overland 4×4, was produced from 1947 to 1965. Other former Jeep pickups include the Gladiator, the Jeepster Commando, and the CJ-8 Scrambler. The Wrangler replaced the similar-looking CJ-7 and the long wheelbase-version CJ-8 in 1986.
FCA announced in January that it will invest $1 billion to modernize two factories in Ohio and Michigan to build new Jeep sport utility vehicles, including a pickup truck. The automaker also said at the time it might move production of its Ram heavy-duty pickup truck to Michigan from Mexico.