Jeep to start building the Wrangler in Southeast Asia?

Malaysia could soon start building Jeeps at Gurun plant

It seems the Stellantis group (PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler) wants to produce more vehicles in ASEAN for ASEAN. Aside from making Peugeot vehicles for markets like Thailand and the Philippines, the auto group reportedly plans to produce Jeep vehicles at its new Gurun plant in Malaysia.

The company has yet to make a formal announcement regarding the matter. But according to a report by WapCar, sources familiar with the supposed plans said that Stellantis will be announcing a new Jeep distributor for Thailand soon. This new distributor will then import Jeep vehicles from the Stellantis plant in Malaysia.

Assuming the report is true, it could allow Jeep to price their vehicles more competitively in the region. If Stellantis were to build complete knock-down units (CBU) of the Wrangler or Gladiator in Malaysia, it could make the 4x4 vehicles more affordable. In addition, Stellantis could also start building both the Compass and Renegade for ASEAN markets.

In the Philippines, Jeep sources its vehicles from two countries, the US and China. The Wrangler and Gladiator are shipped from the US, while the Compass and Renegade come from China.

When asked by WapCar regarding the possibility of building Jeeps in Gurun, Stellantis declined to comment. However, the company did mention that they will be exploring new opportunities for other brands in Gurun in the future.

“We are also making efforts to have the most competitive production basis in Gurun, which will enable us to explore new opportunities and support growth for all Stellantis brands in Gurun in the future. We will have more to share on the growth of our operations in Gurun as we continue to work towards this,” said a Stellantis spokesperson.

While the company did not mention Jeep by name, the spokesperson somehow confirmed that they plan to build other vehicles aside from the Peugeot 2008, 3008, and 5008. For reference, Peugeot Philippines already sources both the 3008 and 5008 from Gurun. In the future, the Peugeot 2008 might also come from Malaysia.

So far, Stellantis' plan for producing Jeeps in Malaysia appears to involve only Thailand. However, given the popularity of the Jeep brand in other ASEAN countries, the company could make it available to other markets like the Philippines. We'll be keeping an eye out for any future development regarding this matter.