Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP) is a
Stellantis North America
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
assembly factory in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. Located on East Jefferson Avenue 6 mi (9.6 km) from downtown, near
Grosse Pointe Park
Grosse Pointe Park is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 11,555 at the 2010 census.
Bordering on Detroit with frontage on southern Lake St. Clair, it is the southernmost of the Grosse Pointe suburbs. Gro ...
, the factory opened in 1991 as a major commitment to the downtown Detroit area by Chrysler, and was expanded in 1999, bringing its area to and expanded again in 2011, bringing its total to . Its first product was the
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a range of mid-size SUVs produced by the American manufacturer Jeep. At its introduction, while most SUVs were still manufactured with body-on-frame construction, the Grand Cherokee has used a unibody chassis from the ...
from the start, which it continues to produce to this day. It uses the original site of the former multi-story Chrysler Kercheval Body Plant, a noted Detroit landmark for a series of large advertising signs on the roof, plus the
Hudson Motor Company location that was originally built during the 1940s as a storage lot for newly manufactured vehicles to the east of the facility. The Kercheval Plant was imploded, and video of the demolition was used in a Chrysler Corp. commercial with
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...
using the new plant as evidence of the company's investment in new product.
History
Jefferson North is the only auto assembly plant that is entirely within the Detroit city limits, and the only surviving auto assembly plant to be based within Detroit proper. A second plant,
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also called Factory Zero, is a General Motors automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. Wh ...
owned by
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, where
Cadillac
The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...
s are manufactured, is partly in Detroit and partly in the neighboring city of Hamtramck.
[Last Car Plant Brings Detroit Hope and Cash]
- ''New York Times'' - July 16, 2013
![Secretary Geithner Visits Detroit (5669161307)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Secretary_Geithner_Visits_Detroit_%285669161307%29.jpg)
Chrysler announced in August 2008 a 1.8-billion-dollar investment in the plant that would expand it by and upgrade the facility for the production of a new product in 2010. Improvements in the plant occurred during a period of intense corporate turmoil for the parent company.
Daimler-Benz
The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...
had sold its majority stake to
Cerberus Capital Management
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
in 2007. Cerberus and the
United Auto Workers
The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
agreed in 2007 to a plan whereby entry workers are paid $16/hour compared to $28 for long-term UAW employees.
The Cerberus-owned company went into bankruptcy in 2009 with the company getting a multibillion-dollar bailout by the United States government before ultimately being acquired by
Fiat
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...
in 2011.
In 2013, more than 300,000 cars a year were being produced at the plant and its work force was reported at 4,600 working, with the plant in operation 24 hours a day.
The crews work an "alternative work schedule" (AWS) known as 3-2-120 that does not require Chrylser to pay overtime or weekend pay. The schedule was part of the bailout package. Each crew works 10 hours a day for 4 days ("A" 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; "B" 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday through Saturday; "C" 10 hours on the night shift Monday and Tuesday and 10 hours on the day shift Friday and Saturday). The 3/2/120 comes from a practice of working for three days, taking off two (plus Sunday for everyone) so that everyone works 120 hours over every three weeks.
In August 2013, the Jefferson North Assembly Plant produced its 5,000,000th vehicle since it first made the 1993
Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ in 1992. The vehicle was a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee
WK2 Overland. A decal was placed on the
windshield
The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Mo ...
of the vehicle to signify that it was the 5,000,000th vehicle produced at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant. The vehicle was donated to the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
, whom Jeep and
Chrysler Group
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
support. A 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4X4 is also on display at JNAP to celebrate this milestone.
President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
visited the plant in 2010 to speak to the workers at the plant. He said that the first new vehicle he ever owned was a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited.
On May 5, 2015, Fiat Chrysler announced that an employee had been killed at Jefferson North's wastewater treatment plant.
Products
Current models
*
Jeep Grand Cherokee
The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a range of mid-size SUVs produced by the American manufacturer Jeep. At its introduction, while most SUVs were still manufactured with body-on-frame construction, the Grand Cherokee has used a unibody chassis from the ...
(1993–present)
[
*]Dodge Durango
The Dodge Durango is a mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) produced by Dodge in three generations starting with the 1998 model year. The first two generations were very similar in that both were based on the Dodge Dakota and Ram Pickup, both fe ...
(2011–present)[
]
Discontinued models
* Jeep Commander
The Jeep Commander is an automobile nameplate used by Jeep since 2005 for several SUV models:
* Jeep Commander (XK), a mid-size SUV produced from 2005 to 2010
* Jeep Commander (2022), a mid-size crossover SUV based on the Jeep Compass produced fo ...
(2006–2010)
Jefferson Avenue Assembly
Prior to the opening of Jefferson North Assembly in 1991, Chrysler operated the adjacent Jefferson Avenue Assembly plant from 1925 through 1990 at Jefferson Avenue and Clairpointe Avenue, between the streets of East Jefferson Avenue and Freud Street. The factory was originally built in 1907 to produce Chalmers automobiles, and later Maxwell automobiles. In 1925, the newly formed Chrysler Corporation took over the plant to build the Chrysler Six
The Chrysler Six was a series of cars that were all installed with the Chrysler Straight Six when the company assumed operations of the Maxwell Automobile Company in 1924, and Chalmers Automobile Company in 1926. The Chrysler Six initially cons ...
and later its flagship Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
. In addition to Imperials, various other models from Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
, DeSoto, Dodge
Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...
, and Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
would eventually be assembled here. The plant officially closed in February 1990 and was razed a year later. The Chrysler Kercheval Body Plant stood on the north side of East Jefferson, and was connected to Jefferson Assembly by a bridge crossing Jefferson in the 1950s. The Jefferson Avenue Assembly was approximately three miles east of the Dodge Main
Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly, also called Factory Zero, is a General Motors automobile assembly plant straddling the border between Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. It is located about three miles (five km) from GM's corporate headquarters. W ...
factory in nearby Hamtramck, the Packard Automotive Plant
The Packard Automotive Plant is a former automobile-manufacturing factory in Detroit, Michigan, where luxury cars were made by the Packard Motor Car Company and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. In 2022, it was scheduled for demolitio ...
which was across the street from the Dodge Factory, and the Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
Lynch Road Assembly
Lynch Road Assembly was a Chrysler assembly plant located in Detroit, Michigan near Coleman A. Young International Airport. It is now the location of The Crown Group, a powdered coatings manufacturer which supports the automotive manufacturing indu ...
in Detroit.
See also
*List of Chrysler factories
List of Chrysler factories contains all the vehicles manufactured by Chrysler LLC (currently "Stellantis North America") and the brands of the group before it merged to Fiat S.p.A. to form FCA.
This list should only include vehicles under the Chr ...
References
External links
*
{{Chrysler Group LLC assembly plants
Chrysler factories
Former motor vehicle assembly plants
Economy of Detroit
Motor vehicle assembly plants in Michigan
1991 establishments in Michigan