Jeep Grand Wagoneer Reportedly on Hold as FCA Figures Out How Exactly to Do This

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has high hopes for the upcoming Jeep Grand Wagoneer and its ability to challenge Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz for premium SUV buyers. The proposed model’s Automotive News, FCA has slammed the brakes on the Grand Wagoneer. The reason, to anyone’s best guess, comes down to money. FCA simply doesn’t have enough of it, and that throws a wrench into the automaker’s initial plan of stretching the next-generation Grand Cherokee’s platform to underpin the Grand Wagoneer.

Besides being in a scramble to bring the next-gen Jeep Wrangler and Ram 1500 to market, the automaker is in the midst of an assembly plant shuffle. Uncertainty over where FCA can build the range-topping SUV raised its head back in September.

The go-to location — the ancient Warren truck plant, which will soon send its Ram production to Sterling Heights — requires costly upgrades to handle the unibody vehicle. On top of that, the Ram shuffle has already eaten up $1.5 billion. An alternative location, the Jefferson North plant — home to the Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango — isn’t setup to produce a longer-wheelbase vehicle. That means another pricey upgrade.

Unless FCA finds a pot of gold (which, ironically, is how the company sees the Grand Wagoneer), there’s no fulfilling the dream — at least, not at this point. Ideally, the automaker hoped to produce the Grand Wagoneer for the 2019 model year, concurrent with the next-gen Ram 1500 and a year after the updated Wrangler’s sales debut.

One fall-back option is to ditch the idea of a lengthened Grand Cherokee platform and go with something that already exists. That makes the next-gen Ram 1500’s frame a candidate. FCA loves bragging about the versatility of its platforms (and saving money!), so a Ram connection can’t be ruled out, especially when there’s cash and prestige at stake.