Jeep Wrangler JK run ends after 12 years

Workers applaud as JK Assembly Center Manager James Gholston Jr. drives the final Jeep Wrangler JK off the line at 3:36 p.m. Friday at the Toledo Assembly Complex. More than 2.1 million JK Wranglers were produced during the 12-year-long production run, which began in 2006. The final Wrangler JK was a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited.

The Blade/Katie Rausch
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A decade-and-a-half ago, the Jeep Wrangler was entrenched as a bit player in the new car game. It was undeniably cool and had a great pedigree, but it was hardly a top seller.

That all changed in 2006, when Jeep rolled out an all-new Wrangler designated internally as the as the JK. It was a little bigger, a little more modern, and had a little more power. But most notably was the option of a four-door model — a first for the Wrangler.

In 2007, the first full year of availability for the JK, Wrangler sales shot up by almost 50 percent to 119,000 units. The Wrangler was no longer a curiosity. It was a force.

“There was no competition. When the four-door came along it opened it up to another demographic, another market,” said Chuck Padden, the plant manager at Fiat Chrysler Toledo Assembly Complex. “It became not only a great off-road vehicle, but it also became a family vehicle.”

VIDEO: The last Wrangler JK rolls off Toledo plant line

On Friday, the Toledo plant built its 2,165,678th — and last — Wrangler JK.

After a 12-year production run that saw the Wrangler JK grow into one of Fiat Chrysler's top-selling and most profitable vehicles, the old model will be fully supplanted by the all-new Wrangler JL, which went into production late last year in a seperate part of the Toledo Assembly Complex.

Workers applaud as JK Assembly Center Manager James Gholston Jr. drives the final Jeep Wrangler JK off the line at 3:36 p.m. Friday at the Toledo Assembly Complex. More than 2.1 million JK Wranglers were produced during the 12-year-long production run, which began in 2006. The final Wrangler JK was a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Brian Sims, Sr., vice chairman of the United Auto Workers Local 12 Jeep Unit. “Some hate to see it go, but they’re looking forward to working on the new truck, so they got mixed emotions.”

The truck that Mr. Sims referenced will take the JK’s spot in Toledo. Contractors have already staged outside the plant in preparation for the retooling. Among Jeep enthusiasts, there’s already a lot of anticipation for that vehicle — the first Jeep pickup in more than 25 years.

Company officials have said production is expected to begin by the end of the year, with the truck going on sale in 2019.

But on Friday, it was all about the model that launched the Wrangler into the stratosphere.

“It’s been a real pleasure. Building an iconic vehicle of this nature and seeing the last one come off the final assembly line? I know we’ve got a new Wrangler over there, but this has been our bread and butter,” said Lyle Sizemore, who has spent the past 35 years working for Jeep in Toledo.

The final Wrangler JK was a white Rubicon Recon Unlimited, a top-of-the-line off-road-ready special edition. As it progressed through the plant, workers were all smiles, snapping photos and following the build as they finished their individual jobs.

“I think morale has been up because everybody was looking forward to this day,” Mr. Sims said. “You can see the way everybody crowded around.”

Jeep officials said the vehicle will remain in the company’s possession.

The end of JK production will mean a temporary layoff for about 850 FCA employees, as well as another 900 employees who work at Kuka and Hyundai Mobis, a pair of on-site suppliers.

Workers snap photos and video as JK Assembly Center Manager James Gholston Jr. drives the final Jeep Wrangler JK off the line at 3:36 p.m. Friday at the Toledo Assembly Complex.

Company officials also confirmed for the first time on Friday that it is continuing relationships with Kuka and Mobis for the new truck. Kuka will build the bodies, while Mobis will assemble the truck’s chassis.

One of the most remarkable things through the JK’s production run has been the plant’s ability to consistently increase its production rate.

“We’re building almost twice the number of units it was originally planned for and that’s a tribute to the workforce here getting everything they possibly could out of this facility,” Mr. Padden said.

Those constraints should be removed going forward, though. In a Thursday conference call with Wall Street analysts, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said between the new Wrangler JL and the upcoming Jeep truck, the plant should be able to build around 340,000 vehicles a year.

The plant built about 244,000 Wranglers last year.

Both the outgoing Wrangler and the all-new one are on dealer lots. Fiat Chrysler officials haven’t provided a breakdown on how many of each generation they’ve sold this year, but overall Wrangler sales have been very good. Through March, Jeep has sold 55,504 Wranglers, a 34 percent increase over the same period last year.

To show just how far the Wrangler has come, consider this — in 2005, the year before the JK launched, Jeep sold 79,017 Wranglers total. 

“It was the right workforce with the right product at the right time, and it was a home run for the entire build period,” Mr. Padden said. 

Contact Tyrel Linkhorn at tlinkhorn@theblade.com, 419-724-6134, or on Twitter @TyrelLinkhorn.