Chrysler LLC plans to build the new Jeep Grand Cherokee in 2010, as said the company’s Vice chairman Tom LaSorda on Thursday. The new vehicle will get a unibody construction, variable valve timing and a fuel-efficient V6 engine.

The automaker also said that it will spend $1.8 billion in retooling the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. The plant will produce the Jeep Grand Cherokee which will use Chrysler’s new Phoenix powertrains. 

LaSorda said, “This investment in our future products and at Jefferson North will enable the Company to produce a future generation of vehicles more efficiently, with world-class quality and an improved environmental footprint,” “Furthermore, this commitment reinforces the long-standing partnership between Chrysler LLC, the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan.”

The company said that the renovation program will include product development functions and new, state-of-the-art manufacturing systems in the plant. The total investment will go towards the design, development, components and supplier support associated with the new vehicle programs.

Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler LLC Executive Vice President of Manufacturing said, “We believe the Jefferson North makeover will give the facility and our Company the upper hand on how responsive we can be to shifts in consumers’ needs and changing market demands.” “We also believe this will be achieved while continuously improving the quality of our vehicles that will be produced in Detroit,” he added.

The Jefferson North assembly was opened  in 1991. It presently builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee for the North American market and the Jeep Commander.

The plant will complete its retooling by the end of 2009 and be operational in early 2010. The retooling will create roughly 400 jobs at the plant, said the company officials.

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