Fiat’s five year plan

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Fiat’s five year plan

April 21st, 2010




Sergio Marchionne reiterated his belief that Europe had too much production capacity, praised the UAW for its role at Chrysler, said he would run the car business after it was spun off, and slammed a small number of analysts whose pessimism was not supported by factual material.

Maserati is planning to enter the E segment. Though no further information was given, this will likely use the LX or LC cars made by Chrysler as its base. In the past we were told that Maserati may use a twin-turbo version of the Pentastar V6 expected to reach 400 hp.

According to the comprehensive five-year plan which Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne unveiled today, the next generation of Alfa Romeos, the Spider and new Giulia, are slated to be based on a Chrysler platform, with production starting in 2012 and 2013.

As previously stated, Chrysler and Lancia are to be integrated. A new compact minivan will be created and the current Ypsilon will be replaced. As rumored earlier, Dodge cars other than the Charger, Challenger, and Viper will be integrated with Fiat’s line.

Fiat and Chrysler’s combined volumes are projected to hit 6 million cars by 2014, which Marchionne said was the minimum needed to be globally competitive. Rather than cutting back on Italian production, Fiat intends to double production there by 2014, presumably using Chrysler to add new vehicles.

He also said Fiat would expand its European dealerships by 1,600 within the next five years; 950 would be dedicated to Chrysler. 34 new models are to launch in Europe, 13 of which are to be produced in North America. At the same time, the number of architectures will be cut from 16 (in 2006) to five (in 2014), with a plan for 7.6 models per architecture (from 1.7 in 2006).

Fiat’s top market is currently Brazil, followed by Italy.

Alfa Romeo’s status has been raised. Though, like Lancia, it cannot survive on current volumes, he believes Alfa’s return to having a full line (fueled by Chrysler cars) and return to North America would help. Part of the projected gain would be at the expense of Eurocompetitors: “We’ve allowed the German contingent to dominate the C and D segment in Europe.”

Manufacturing improvements are saving a claimed 1.9 billion euros over five years, while combined purchasing will supposedly save another 2.9 billion euros in the next five years. (A euro is currently worth $1.34 in US and Canadian currency.)

Fiat is working on a version of its 6 speed dual clutch automatic (automatically shifted manual) transmission for 4×4s, including Jeeps; it can cut CO2 emissions by 24%.

Thanks to:
Fiat’s five year plan | Allpar Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep News

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Report: 2013 Alfa Romeo Spider, 2012 Giulia to be based on RWD Chrysler platform

Apr 21st 2010

According to the comprehensive five-year plan which Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne unveiled today, the next generation of Alfa Romeos are slated to be based on a Chrysler platform.

Among those models will be the replacement for the current Spider, as well as the new Giulia sedan and wagon. These three models – which will replace the outgoing 159, Brera and Spider – were previously thought to borrow their underpinnings from a modified version of the C-segment platform that underpins the new Giulietta, but have now been revealed to be merged into Chrysler platforms, arriving in 2012 (Giulia) and 2013 (Spider). Although Marchionne didn't specify which Chrysler platform this will be, sources suggest it could be a modified version of the antiquated Mercedes-derived architecture that underpins the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Challenger.

In addition to the Alfa's adoption of Chrysler architecture, Marchionne indicated that Chrysler and Lancia are set to be further integrated, with common products (including a new compact minivan and the replacement for the Ypsilon supermini) sold as Lancias in continental Europe and as Chryslers in North America and the UK. With the exception of the Challenger, Charger and Viper, Dodge and Fiat products will be similarly integrated, while Jeep is slated for an increased overseas market presence.

LINK: Report: 2013 Alfa Romeo Spider, 2012 Giulia to be based on RWD Chrysler platform — Autoblog

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Fiat unveils five-year product plan

It would seem that Fiat head Sergio Marchionne is nothing if not ambitious. Following the seven-hour-long marathon presentation of Chrysler's latest business plan back in November of 2009, the giant Italian automaking alliance has just released its own five-year business plan, which includes Fiat, Maserati and Ferrari in addition to announcing the long-awaited return of the Alfa Romeo brand to the United States as a full-range automaker.

We'll start with Ferrari... for obvious reasons. Kicking off a series of six new models will be a replacement for the four-seat 612 Scaglietti, which is destined to add a hybrid powertrain to its impressive V12 engine. Next up is a convertible version of the new 458 Italia sometime next year, and later another 458-based model that will be much more track focused, like the 430 Scuderia.

Staying with the Prancing Horse lineup, we should see a new range-topping Ferrari to take the mantle from the discontinued Enzo hypercar, very likely to see an engine utilizing forced induction along with a lightweight platform. The 599 GTB will get a replacement as well, and the recently released California will see itself updated and granted an M designation.

Like what you're hearing so far? There's plenty more where that came from, make the jump for the rest of the goods.

LINK: Fiat unveils five-year product plan, we dissect in detail — Autoblog