DETROIT _ Mopar opened a new parts distribution center in Virginia this week to serve Fiat Chrysler Automobile dealerships in the Mid-Atlantic region as the automaker continues to expand its parts and service brand.
The new center in Winchester, Va., near the north-south Interstate-81 corridor, is the first of two such facilities planned to open this year. The other, in Romulus, Mich., is slated to open in the fourth quarter, according to Darren Jacobs, a Mopar spokesman.
The more than 400,000-square-foot facility in Virginia will serve more than 200 Fiat Chrysler dealerships. Fiat Chrysler is investing $12.2 million in equipment for the leased facility and says it will employ 70 workers over two shifts there.
In Romulus, the company plans to spend $10.4 million and employ 100 workers at a 500,000-square-foot distribution center.
The centers will add shipping capacity to the company's existing distribution network. The Winchester operation brings the number of Mopar facilities to 22 in North America and more than 50 parts distribution centers, including joint ventures, worldwide, the company said.
