US – The investment will increase capacity for the eight-speed, fuel-efficient transmission, of which the plant made nearly 700,000 in the first 11 months of 2014 – up from 300,000 the year before.
Capacity will be increased within the existing assembly floorspace at Kokomo Transmission Plant (KTP); the investment will go towards the purchase of new equipment and tooling. The expansion, beginning immediately and finishing in the third quarter of 2016, will also mean workforce retention.
“Since the launch of the eight-speed, employees at Kokomo Transmission have been working practically round the clock to produce this advanced, fuel-efficient transmission,” said Brad Clark, head of Powertrain Manufacturing Operations, FCA – North America. “This investment will give us the additional capacity we need to make it available across even more vehicles in our product line.”
KTP has been making TorqueFlight transmissions since September 2013. Today, it is produced for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler 300, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Dodge Durango, and Ram 1500. The company has invested nearly $1.8 billion at Kokomo since 2009.