By Steven Symes 
For the past week, Jeep hasn’t made any Gladiators at its Toledo factory, thanks to an issue with parts. That’s the order of the day, as other Stellantis assembly facilities stopped production recently thanks to parts shortages, tariffs, retooling, and other problems.
Automakers are dealing with the ups and downs of the tariffs.
While Jeep says Gladiator production fires back up on May 5 after sitting idle for an entire week, we have to wonder if this has to do in part with slowing demand. After all, the trucks and other Jeeps, plus Dodges, Rams and even non-Stellantis brands, have had problems with selling.
Add to that Stellantis telling The Detroit News the stoppage of Gladiator production in Toledo was to “align parts inventory with demand” and we really have to wonder. After all, that bit about “demand” sounds like maybe production was paused because not enough people want to buy them.
A similar thing has been going on at Bowling Green Assembly, where the Chevy Corvette is made. Production stoppages seem to have more to do with slowing down the flow of new vehicles than anything else.
The Detroit News seems to also believe this has more to do with a lack of demand for Jeep Gladiators. It points out how shoppers can get a 2024 model for up to 20 percent off the sticker price and $7,000 in bonus cash allowance for a 2025 model as the automaker is desperate to move inventory.
While some will want to say this is about the Gladiator being a stinker, we think it’s more about the market in general going down. Why that is can be debated, but there’s no doubt a lot of people feel uncertain about the economy and their financial future.
Couple that with sky high new car prices and it’s no wonder cars, trucks, and SUVs are just sitting on dealer lots.
Image via Stellantis