Chrysler has made plans to invest over $370 million to manufacture nine-speed automatic transmissions in the USA. This will happen next Spring as the company says it will form over 1200 new jobs at Pentastar’s transmission plant in Indiana. With this new project approaching fast, it is also said that this will make it the largest transmission installation center in the world. With the announcement for the new nine-speed automatics, Chrysler also announced that production has started for the eight-speed automatic that will be placed in the 2013 Dodge Charger and 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Photo courtesy of Mopar

The new nine-speed will most likely start in the Dodge Dart and 2014 Jeep Cherokee. The new transmission is reported to bring fuel efficiency gains up 16 percent. That’s due to the high overall gear-ratio spread of 9.84, and further amplified by the small ratio differences between each of the nine gears. This should help performance, as the gearbox is expected to keep the engine in the thick of its powerband, while the torque converter will lock at lower engine speeds.