Mike Manly wants it but he is still to get the project past the "business case" stage. “The pickup continues to progress because of the interest in the vehicle,” said Jeep chief Mike Manley. “One of the things as a company that we’ve had to be very disciplined in is where we’re putting our resources. We’re still in recovery mode and have to be very careful with our investments. We have so much going on. Our resources are fully dedicated to small vehicles, new transmissions and working with Fiat. There are none left to work on the Jeep pickup at this time.”
“There’s clear interest in the U.S. for a pickup,” Manley said, “It could give us potential for some of our international markets even though the pickup market is slightly different outside of the U.S.”
“If you took a Wrangler-based pickup, it would almost still remain as a unique vehicle in international markets,” Manley said. “We could do a metric ton version of it. That’s the biggest market. But a lot of the market is commoditized. I wouldn’t want to do a commodity Jeep pickup.”
“There’s an opportunity but whether the business case makes sense or not is the issue,” Manley said. “Mainly because of manufacturing location and import/export duties around the world.”
In the meantime, while Chrysler tackles its urgent vehicle development efforts and develops a business case, Manley says the Jeep pickup remains a personal priority.
“It’s certainly something that’s of huge interest to me,” Manley said.
We will all have to wait and see but dont hold your breath too long!
You could always order the Mopar JK Independance Pick Up Kit and do it your self - word is its possibly being considered for import by Mopar Australia.
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