Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. automaker operated by Fiat SpA, said it’s looking to invest $843 million in its manufacturing plants in Kokomo, Indiana, to produce a new front-wheel drive automatic transmission.
The automaker, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, is working with Friedrichshafen, Germany-based ZF Group on the transmission. The planned investment follows a total of $343 million Chrysler said in May and June it will devote to the Kokomo operation.
“For years, Kokomo has been at the center of our power- train strategy, and the potential of an additional investment reaffirms that position,” Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Chrysler and Fiat, said in a statement today.
The front-wheel drive transmission, along with the previously announced eight-speed transmission Chrysler will also produce in Kokomo, “will transform our future products and position them as leaders in marketplace,” he said.
The investments depend upon the Kokomo City Council approving a tax-abatement application on Dec. 13, Chrysler said.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the transmission complex today.
