TIPTON, Ind. (AP) – Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the company's newest central Indiana transmission plant will create prosperity for both surrounding communities and for the automaker.
Marchionne and other officials dedicated Chrysler's new Tipton Transmission Plant along U.S. 31 south of Kokomo. The automaker said it would spend about $160 million to finish the factory that German auto parts maker Getrag started building in 2007 and where Chrysler expects to employ 850 workers by the end of 2015. It currently employs 200 workers.
The plant will build Chrysler's fuel-efficient nine-speed transmission. When it reaches full capacity, it will ship about 800,000 finished transmissions to Toledo, Ohio, for the Jeep Cherokee and to Sterling Heights, Michigan, for the Chrysler 200. It also will supply FIAT plants in Italy, Turkey, Brazil and China.