Chrysler ’s decision of where to build a Fiat-designed 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine just got a little more complicated: The Michigan Economic Growth Authority voted in favor of giving Chrysler 10 years’ worth of employment tax credits if it decides to build the motors in Dundee, Michigan, rather than Saltillo, Mexico.
If Chrysler builds the engines in Michigan, it would reopen a plant that has been idle since 2007. The tax credits would be worth about $4.6 million and would cover 155 workers. That’s a small chunk of change compared to the $179 million Chrysler says it will invest in a facility to build the engines, but it could be enough to sway the company, reports out of Detroit indicate.
Still, even the state of Michigan admits that there are numerous advantages to building the motor in Mexico, where it is closer to the assembly plant that will build the small vehicles powered by the motor – starting with a Mexican-assembled Fiat 500.
