Stellantis Will Idle the Jeep Cherokee Plant Indefinitely

The Jeep Cherokee is still pretty nice, but it appears to be on borrowed time. The plant its produced at has been idled multiple times the last few years. Partially due to the pandemic-related supply chain shortages, and partially because its an old model now and its sales are sliding.

Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), has announced that they will idle the Jeep Cherokee plant in Illinois as of February 28th, 2023. This means that 1,200 workers at the plant will be laid off indefinitely laid off as a result. The automaker says that they will focus on investments into electric vehicles. The Cherokee plant has already shut down several times and gone through layoffs throughout the pandemic from what I recall. So, it appears that ongoing supply chain issues as well as sliding Cherokee sales have finally taken their toll along with other market factors.

In my opinion, the Cherokee isn’t a bad looking SUV, but its design is very, very old now. Originally released for the 2014 model year, the Jeep Cherokee (KL) has had up and down bouts with its reliability as well, particularly with the ZF 9-speed automatic transmission proving very problematic for several model years (as well as in other Jeep products its used in, such as the Renegade and Compass). While the Cherokee did receive a facelift for the 2019 model year, in that time, most competitors have undergone full redesigns that have made them a significantly better pick that the Cherokee (Chevrolet Equinox/GMC Terrain, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Bronco Sport, and many more). I believe that the current Cherokee is likely near the end of its product cycle, and we’ll likely see an electrified 4xe version for the next generation – which speaking of that, Jeep claims another Cherokee is on the way from what I’ve researched.

In the meantime, being laid off is never fun, so my thoughts are with those at the Cherokee factory that will be affected by this indefinite shutdown starting next year. Would you consider a Cherokee? Or would you wait for the next generation model, upgrade to the larger, newer design Grand Cherokee (WL), OR shop the Cherokee’s competitors?

Copyright © 2022 Adam's Autos, All Rights Reserved.