DETROIT -- Chrysler has won bragging rights for the most efficient assembly plant in North America and tied with Toyota as the most productive vehicle manufacturer, according to this years Harbour Report on auto plant productivity.
Chrysler struggled with financial and market share losses in 2007, but it excelled in manufacturing. Its Toledo Supplier Park in Ohio was named North Americas most productive assembly plant.
The factory needed just 13.57 labor hours per vehicle to build Jeep Wranglers. The Supplier Park uses Germany's Kuka Group to manage the body shop, Magna Steyr to manage the paint shop and Hyundai Mobis for chassis assemblies.
The next-closest assembly plant was General Motors Oshawa No. 1 plant in Oshawa, Ontario. That plant used 15.18 labor hours per vehicle to build Chevrolet Impala sedans.
This is the first year that consulting firm Oliver Wyman has published the Harbour Report. It bought Harbour Consulting, of suburban Detroit, in December.