Questa di Marchionne è un'operazione intressante. Ma come è messa FCA quanto a propulsioni alternative e più pulite? Qui mi sembra che debbano essere fatti velocemente dei grandi progressi, perchè molti altri costruttori sembrano essere messi decisamente meglio.

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Come si corre a Indy? Semplice: acceleri, vai diritto e prendi la prima a sinistra. Ripeti tutto 799 volte e hai vinto.

Se non erro il settore Trucks negli USA è soggetto anche a normative molto più blande in termini di antiinquinamento.
Non mi pare però che la cosa si applichi anche al settore SUV.

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La vendetta è una pigra forma di sofferenza

Non esistono donne brutte, ho solo bevuto troppo poco per farmele....

Wester, a top lieutenant of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne, has been replaced as leader of the multibillion effort to resurrect Alfa Romeo and as head of Maserati.

Wester, 58, a German-born mechanical engineer who has been in leading positions at FCA and its corporate predecessors since 2004, will remain FCA’s chief technical officer, the automaker announced today.

But he will no longer be responsible for FCA’s two luxury brands. In his place, Reid Bigland, 49, will assume global responsibility for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Bigland, a Canadian, will also continue as head of U.S. and Canadian sales for FCA US.

Wester "will be able to devote his full attention" to the role of chief technology officer, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a statement. "I am thankful for the work Harald has carried out in the last few years establishing a sound technical framework for our two premium brands and which has culminated in the recent launch of the Maserati Levante and the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Marchionne said.

"It is time now for our efforts to be directed towards the global commercial expansion of these two brands, and I can think of no one better than Reid to fulfill that mission,” he said in the statement.

FCA ha nominato Reid Bigland a capo dei marchi Alfa Romeo e Maserati sostituendo Wester che rimarrà CTO ( chief technology officer e non centro traumatologico ortopedico) del gruppo.
Ci saranno stati dissidi tra Maglionne e Wester?
Bigland non è un ingegnere e ha lavorato solo nel settore vendite e marketing.

Come avevamo previsto in questo post dello scorso febbraio, Harald Wester da martedì non è più il capo di Alfa Romeo e Maserati. Gli subentra Reid Bigland, attuale responsabile delle vendite FCA in Nordamerica.

L’assenza di Wester alla presentazione a Roma della nuova Giulia al Presidente del Consiglio e al Presidente della Repubblica, del resto, aveva sollevato più di un dubbio circa la sua permanenza al vertice dei due marchi. A Wester per ora rimane il ruolo di Chief Technical Officer di FCA, ma la recente nomina a CTO di Alfa e Maserati di Roberto Fedeli, ex-Ferrari tornato in Italia dopo una breve parentesi in BMW, oltre a quella di Bigland, di fatto ne fanno un’anatra zoppa all’interno del gruppo ed è probabile che nei prossimi mesi ci saranno ulteriori novità.

Sospendiamo il giudizio circa l’idoneità di Bigland rispetto alla missione affidatagli da Sergio Marchionne. Indubbiamente in questi anni ha fatto un gran lavoro, ma occuparsi di due marchi con aspirazioni “premium” come Alfa e Maserati, soprattutto in Europa, è tutt’altra cosa che vendere Ram e Dodge negli Stati Uniti.

Va detto che da quando la responsabilità del risultato economico è passata ai COO delle regioni, ai marchi è rimasto solo un ruolo di supporto; nonostante l’altisonante titolo di CEO che tuttora viene loro attribuito, il compito di ciascun “brand leader” (oltre a Bigland, Mike Manley – che è anche COO dell’area Asia Pacific – per Jeep e Olivier Francois per Fiat) è sviluppare un appropriato portafoglio prodotti. E di assistere i COO nell’implementazione di strategie di marketing adeguate per ciascuna delle regioni operative. Al punto che viene da domandarsi se anche gli altri marchi del gruppo prima o poi passeranno sotto l’egida commerciale di Bigland, ricreando così una posizione scomparsa da tempo.

Nel frattempo, con cinque mesi di ritardo, è cominciata la pubblicità di lancio della nuova Alfa Romeo Giulia, con una campagna TV che prende di mira “la solita berlina tedesca”, una provocazione – c’è da scommetterci – voluta dallo stesso Marchionne, a maggior ragione dopo la diatriba con il governo tedesco a proposito delle emissioni della Fiat 500X. senza parlare della rivalità in Formula 1 con Mercedes.

Comprensibilmente, aldilà dei problemi emersi durante la progettazione della nuova Giulia, per Wester, tedesco della Rheinland, l’aria si deve essere fatta pesante.

Carblogger parla di Wester come di un´anatra zoppa pronta ad essere segata da Maglionne, mi sembra un parere un po´fantasioso, il manager tedesco e´sempre stato il braccio tecnico del maglionato.
Certo, le cose cambiano, chissa´......

Non mi piace mai quando si sostituisce un ingegnere con un "venditore", nonostante reputi gli ingegneri allo stesso livello di un klingon

Certo ma poi le auto bisogna venderle, a livello "ingegneristico" mi pare abbiano fatto un buon/ottimo lavoro, la base c'è poi al limite rimangono Fedeli-Krief per evolverla se gli danno budget, ora devono cercare di vendere cosa non facile ancor di pià su auto che paino fatte per piacere a una nicchia che sinceramente non so quanto sia ancora numerosa, in parole povere non so se vende di più un albero di trasmissione in carbonio che solo 4porte e sedili non abbattibile ci vorrebbero tutte e 2 ovvio...ma si sa in FCA chiedere tutto rimane impossibile.

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

lo sai che è una battuta da ingegnere nerd vero?

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"Scusi, ma lei ha preso la patente di guida veloce?"

Bigland, the hyperintensive, iron-pumping U.S. sales boss at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, can undoubtedly move the metal. After all, FCA's U.S. sales have risen every month for the past six years.

He's a "full-blooded sales carnivore," says one company insider.


Bigland is also Sergio Marchionne's chief fixer, having stabilized Dodge and Ram during stints heading those brands in the U.S.

Now he has another mission. Last week Bigland was handed global responsibility for FCA's struggling Italian luxury brands, Maserati and Alfa Romeo -- on top of all his other duties. But this time the job is not only about bolstering brands and boosting sales.

Insiders say the move is very much an examination to see whether the 49-year-old Canadian has the chops to succeed Marchionne in 2018. That's when the CEO, now 63, says he plans to step down.

Marchionne "trusts Reid to run the business," said an FCA source with direct knowledge. "He treats him like the son who may inherit the company -- but isn't certain he can actually take it over."

And, sure enough, Maserati and Alfa Romeo will be a huge challenge, with nothing short of the fate of FCA riding on the results.

In 2014, Marchionne laid out a strategy for FCA that is dependent on the continued growth of Jeep and the revival of Alfa Romeo. That year, a debt-burdened FCA bet the house -- about $6 billion -- that it could resurrect Alfa and push its profit-rich global sales from an anemic 74,000 in 2013 to 400,000 by 2018.


Now it will be up to Bigland to make that happen.

"I think the luxury brands are a good fit since it gives [Bigland] direct control of manufacturing and product development," the insider said. "It's a great test to fill out the chops."

The fixer


Given the problems facing Maserati and Alfa Romeo, Reid Bigland's skill set seems a good fit.
For years Bigland has been Marchionne's ace troubleshooter. The former Freightliner and Canadian Airlines executive was running Chrysler Canada when he was tapped to take over a struggling Dodge brand from Ralph Gilles in 2011. Bigland also added U.S. sales to his duties, taking over from Fred Diaz, who moved to Ram.


When Diaz departed for Nissan in 2013, Marchionne moved Bigland from Dodge to Ram but kept him in the U.S. sales job.

In the new alignment, Bigland keeps a grip on U.S. sales and Canada. He's also a member of FCA's Group Executive Council, the company's highest decision-making body.

At Alfa and Maserati, Bigland replaces another longtime Marchionne lieutenant, Harald Wester, who keeps his other job as FCA's chief technology officer.

"It is time now for our efforts to be directed towards the global commercial expansion of these two brands, and I can think of no one better than Reid to fulfill that mission," Marchionne said in a written statement. "Reid has an extraordinary record of growing sales and market share in the U.S. and Canada over the last 7 years at FCA, including leading the growth and positioning of the Ram and Dodge brands for part of that time."

Bigland's skill set seems a good fit considering the problems facing Maserati and Alfa Romeo. At Maserati, global shipments declined 14 percent in the first quarter to 6,295, including a 16 percent fall in North America and an 8 percent decline in Europe.

The decline resulted in a 2.9 percent drop in revenue in the quarter, but more important, the brand's global adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell by 56 percent to just 16 million euros, or about $17.9 million.

Aging lineup
Maserati has an aging product lineup and only 115 dealerships in North America. But in the first quarter it began producing a new luxury crossover in Italy, the Maserati Ghibli-based Levante.

Wester and Marchionne have said North America is key to Maserati's success, especially after a slowdown in luxury sales in China. Wester said he wanted to expand Maserati's North American dealer footprint from 115 to 130 dealerships by the end of 2016, and, with the addition of the Levante, wanted to grow North American sales from about 12,000 in 2015 to an annual rate of 20,000.

Alfa Romeo's problems may be solved simply by getting its long-delayed products.

FCA's 141 Alfa Romeo dealerships in North America are waiting for eight cars and crossovers that have been promised. So far, they have had just one vehicle to sell -- the low-volume 4C sports coupe.

Production of the Giulia, the first of the eight promised Alfas, began in Italy in March. North American versions of the sedan will be built starting in July and will arrive in showrooms this fall. A planned crossover on a shared platform with the Giulia, known as the Stelvio, is due to be revealed by year end.

Insiders say Bigland's straightforward, hard-charging nature will help him tackle the problems at Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

Bigland provides "a direct and honest view," said one source. "Reid is different from the other [FCA executives] in that he is not that concerned about what [Marchionne] may think -- and [Marchionne] does not get that much from the others. Plus Reid is what Sergio is not -- a full-blooded sales carnivore."

Bigland was out of the country last week and unavailable for an interview.

On the road
Still, running four FCA business units won't be easy for Bigland. The travel alone will be brutal.

Though he now works primarily out of FCA US headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., near his home, Bigland, who holds Canadian and U.S. citizenship, also spends a lot of time at FCA Canada's headquarters in Windsor, Ontario.

Leading Alfa Romeo and Maserati will require more frequent and extended stays in Italy, where the two brands are based and their vehicles are built.

Bigland's travel schedule will be exceeded perhaps only by the schedules of Marchionne and Jeep head Mike Manley. Manley, also considered a contender to take over for Marchionne when he steps down, is on the Group Executive Council and, besides Jeep, is responsible for the automaker's expansion and operations in Asia.

Few who know Bigland doubt that he'll stay focused.

David Kelleher, a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealer in Glen Mills, Pa., and a member of the FCA National Dealer Council, said: "Reid's challenging, and you complain about what he wants you to do for 29 days. Then on the 30th day, we all achieve our goals."

As for Bigland's new extra jobs?

Kelleher said: "That guy's an animal. You'd have to throw about three or four more assignments at him before I'd be worried that he had too much on his plate."

Pare che Bigland sia tra i candidati a succedere a Marchionne.
Elkann ha dichiarato all'assemblea di Exor che il maglionato rimarrà in Francia almeno fino al 2019, sarebbero 15 anni di regno.


Questo se non vendi le auto ti gonfia..

Aldilà della nazionalità, nemmeno Western è Italiano...., dal CV ha questo buldozzer....pare proprio che finalmente stavolta vogliono vendere seriamente speriamo

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

BELGRADE -- The Serbian unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will lay off nearly 30 percent of its workforce, ending one of its three shifts producing 500L models, a union leader said.

"We are in talks with the management on a voluntary redundancy program," said Zoran Markovic, a union leader. "We believe that after Fiat ends the third shift, hundreds will lose their jobs at subcontractors' plants."

Fiat Serbia, one of the country's biggest exporters, employs 3,100 workers at its plant in Kragujevac in central Serbia. Up to 900 workers are employed on each shift.

Fiat declined to comment on the number of workers to be laid off. On Tuesday the company said it was scaling down production at the plant from three shifts to two.

The factory is a 1-billion-euro ($1.1 billion) joint venture 67 percent owned by Fiat and 33 percent by the Serbian state. The plant began production of Fiat's 500L minivan range in July 2012 for export to global markets including Europe and North America. It produced 100,000 cars in 2015.

European sales of the 500L fell by 16 percent to 23,028 in the first quarter, according to JATO Dynamics market researchers.

U.S. sales of the 500L plunged 63 percent to 2,064 through May.

Brutte notizie per l'impianto Fiat in Serbia, verrà licenziato il 30% degli operai a causa dell' insuccesso della 500L.

Auto senza senso, ancora di più ora che è entrata in produzione la Tipo. È prevista un'altra produzione per quello stabilimento?

In Italia fa ancora numeri "folli" vedere a maggio poi se sono tutti rent e kmo non so, all'estero vendicchiato qualcosa in Spagna/Francia per il resto megaflop....in Usa già vendeva poco e ora annullata da 500x, che cmq vende poco anche lei li, e dire che hanno fatto versioni specifiche per usa...cosa che non fanno per Italia su auto che qui fan numeri pi alti.

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA jtdm-2 20 170cv- distinctive-pack premium-pack sport 18 - Luglio 2010 -superati i 313.333KM!!!

Mah, il senso secondo me ce l'ha. E' che averla disegnata come un carrello della spesa non aiuta

Commercialmente parlando la 500 L ebbe un buon inizio, dal 2015 in poi ha risentito della concorrenza interna da parte della 500X; è successo lo stesso ad altri marchi vedi i casi Meriva-Mokka oppure B-max/Ecosport.
L'impianto serbo dovrebbe riceve era un nuovo prodotto ma non prima del 2019.

Sarà contento il governo serbo dopo le badilate di incentivi versati a Marchionne...

esatto - 1 operaio su 3 va a casa...

http://www.repubblica.it/economia/2016/ ... f=HREC1-17

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non posso aspettar l'Ateca...

MILAN (Bloomberg) -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne is considering adding full electric vehicles to the carmaker's line-up including the Maserati Alfieri sports car and a small city car for Fiat.

"I've always thought the economic model that supports Tesla is something that Fiat Chrysler could replicate as we have the brand and the vehicles to do it," Marchionne told Bloomberg Television. "I think that to use one of our potential cars as an experiment in this area is interesting."

Maserati, which showed an Alfieri concept at the Geneva car show in 2014, doesn't plan to introduce a full electric version of the model before the end of the company's five-year plan which ends in 2018.

Marchionne, who turned 64 Friday, said the electric Alfieri isn't scheduled until after he retires as CEO of Fiat Chrysler in 2019.

"I'm not as convinced as some others are about the fact that electrification is the solution for all of man's ills," said Marchionne. "We need to experiment as we are doing now with connected cars and mobility as electrification is one of the potential answers.

EV for Europe

Fiat is considering producing an electric city car for the European market, which would be the first electric model sold in the region, he said.

Fiat currently sells an electric version of its 500 subcompact only in its North American market. Marchionne said in 2014 that the carmaker was losing at least $10,000 on every 500e it sells to comply with California emission rules.

Marchionne also said the carmaker will introduce more hybrid vehicles, including a hybrid version of the Maserati Levante SUV. He expects carmakers to offer hybrid versions on most models to meet emission targets by 2021.

Fiat Chrysler's expansion into the electric car business would follow Volkswagen Group's plans to accelerate efforts to adapt to the industry's shift toward self-driving electric vehicles. Earlier this month, Volkswagen mapped out a sweeping strategy overhaul focused on electric cars, automated driving and services such as ride-hailing in an effort to emerge from the diesel-cheating scandal that's weighed on the company for months.




FCA starebbe pensando ad una citycar elettrica e l'Alfieri potrebbe essere un'anti Tesla model S.

Direi che l articolo dice il contrario...

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non posso aspettar l'Ateca...

ma del Levante propone una versione hybrid.

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Seat Leon 1.4 E-Hybrid Phev 204 cv

Da quanto hanno detto Marchionne e Wester ad avere il plug in hybrid saranno Levante, Pacifica, le prossime Ghibli e Quattroporte, Giulia e la berlina Alfa sui 5 mt.

Cosa mettono?
Bosch?

Zf fornirà la tecnologia.

ormai l'ibrido è un must. La Pacifica c'è già se non sbaglio.
la cosa strana dell'articolo che hai postato è che il titolo dice l'opposto di quello che poi dicono nell'articolo stesso...

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non posso aspettar l'Ateca...

Nearly one-third of the workforce at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, was laid off last week because of poor Fiat 500L demand.

In the United States, the 500L is by no means the only Fiat that isn’t selling.

Besides the 500L’s sharp U.S. sales decline — year-over-year volume has tumbled each month in the last nine months — the core 500 model which brought Fiat back to life in the U.S. has lost nearly half its volume this year, a 6,288-unit loss through only five months.

Meanwhile, the expectation that a crossover could make up for the poorly received 500L and rapidly aging 500 turned out to be false. A crossover, yes, that will be the ticket. Surely a crossover could work wonders. A relative of the Jeep Renegade, only prettier, could definitely restore Fiat to the peak glory days of 2014.

Glory days, when with two models in its lineup, Fiat USA failed to match its stated goal of 50,000 annual sales for the 500 alone? Of course, that Sergio Marchionne sales forecast was way off target.

Just as the 500L and 500X have missed the mark, as well.

“Blame me,” Marchionne said at the time. And if Marchionne deserves the blame for overstating the Fiat 500’s possible U.S. success, it’s fair to give credit to Marchionne, FCA’s CEO, for some of the automaker’s U.S. success, as well. Emphasizing Jeep during an era of high SUV/crossover demand is turning out rather well.

2014 Fiat 500L Lounge

Yet one of the Jeeps that have made these record sales possible, the Renegade, is an unpopular and undesirable utility vehicle when it wears curvaceous bodywork and a Fiat badge. Sure, here at TTAC, we prefer the charming Fiat 500X over its boxy Jeep sibling. And yes, we all knew that Jeep, a powerhouse of a brand, would sell more Renegades than Fiat dealers would sell 500Xs.

But there was nevertheless a belief that despite cannibalizing the 500L, the Fiat 500X would find a healthy measure of U.S. interest. After all, the subcompact crossover market doubled in size last year and grew 60 percent in the first five months of 2016.

Only 3 percent of the subcompact crossovers sold in America so far this year were 500Xs, however. The Renegade, on the flip side, leads the category and claims one-fifth of its sales.

Heading into May, Automotive News reported that Fiat dealers had a 163-day 500X supply of nearly 7,000 units, or about the number of 500Xs Fiat sold in a five-month span. The industry’s average is 70 days.

To be fair, the 500X is more popular now than the 500L was at its peak, albeit not by much. Fiat sold 15,763 copies of the 500X over the last year, but only sold 14,128 copies of the 500L during its best 12-month stretch. However, 500X demand appears to already be fading, only one year into its lifecycle.

Fiat USA averaged more than 2,000 monthly sales in the fourth-quarter of 2015, but fewer than 1,300 per month since.

We’re talking about Dr. Jill Stein/Green Party levels of support here. As in the case of Dr. Stein, even if the 500X doubled its support base, it would still generate a scarcely measurable level of support. Presently, the 500X is America’s 75th-best-selling SUV/crossover, behind two Land Rovers, two Porsches, two Volvos, and two Lincolns, and 66 others.

2017 Fiat 124 Spider

Moreover, the 500X’s additional sales aren’t really additions at all. While Fiat has added 6,300 500X sales in the U.S. so far this year, the Fiat brand has lost roughly 10,000 500 and 500L sales, meaning brand-wide volume is down 19 percent.

If a small crossover couldn’t bring Fiat USA’s fortunes back from the brink, a two-seat Mazda MX-5-based roadster likely won’t do the trick, either.

Questo articolo di thetruthaboutcars.com descrive bene l'insuccesso del marchio Fiat negli USA, non è da escludere che quel mercato venga abbandonato.

tra il dire e il fare c'è di mezzo il mare. come tra italia e USA.
speriamo anche alfa non faccia la stessa fine, visto che giulia è nata per gli USA...

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non posso aspettar l'Ateca...

CHELSEA, Mich. -- The single vehicle replacement for the Jeep Compass and Patriot will debut in late September in Brazil and will retain one of the two names, Jeep brand head Mike Manley said today.

Manley said the vehicle, known internally as the C-SUV, is not delayed and will be shown in the U.S. at the L.A. Auto Show in November. It will appear in U.S. dealerships in early 2017, Manley said.


Its official reveal in Brazil will be during a celebration of the start of production at FCA’s new Pernambuco assembly plant, which also builds the Jeep Renegade, Manley said.

The Compass replacement will share the smaller Renegade’s platform as well as its disconnecting front-wheel-drive-based drivetrain. For North America, the Compass replacement will be built in Toluca, Mexico, instead of the Compass’s current home in Belvidere, Ill. It also will be assembled in China for the Chinese market, with start of production scheduled for late this year.

“In every plant, the status of the launch is very much on track,” Manley said.

Manley said the vehicle has not changed since it was first shown to journalists in Detroit in December.

Speaking to reporters during Fiat Chrysler’s annual “What’s New” event for journalists at its Chelsea Proving Grounds here, Manley clarified the Jeep brand’s future product plans to go both smaller and larger.

He said he continues to study an entry-level Jeep that would be smaller than even the Renegade but would be sold primarily outside North America.


“I am right in the middle of that right now. I have a strong belief that there is an opportunity for a smaller Jeep, beyond Renegade. That opportunity lies … outside of NAFTA,” Manley said. “I’m not sure NAFTA would ever be the lead market for such a vehicle to be codeveloped with the next-generation Grand Cherokee onto a new platform.”

Manley said a Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are best thought of as luxury trim levels instead of wholly separate vehicles.

“The Wagoneeer name represents, historically, the pinnacle of premium for the Jeep world. But in the same way as you may have an Overland and a Summit, you have different trim levels, so you could imagine the use of Wagoneer to denote a really premium vehicle, and Grand Wagoneer takes it to the very next level,” Manley said. “So if you were to use that as your naming strategy, that’s exactly how I would use the trims.”

Manley said the next-generation Jeep Wrangler under development will be more fuel-efficient and is “on schedule and on track.” It will be introduced in the first half of 2017.


“To be honest with you, I’m delighted in the way it’s turning out, not just from a styling point of view, but from an overall point of what Wrangler stands for, I’m very pleased,” Manley said.

“We’ve made a large number of changes in terms of fuel economy, both enablers in terms of weight, with the aero[dynamics] of Wrangler, because at the end of the day, it needs to be recognized as Wrangler,” Manley said. “With weight [reductions] and a number of changes that we’ve made, you’re going to see that we’ve really pushed that vehicle forward in terms of fuel economy.”

On a related note, Manley set a hard date for the introduction of a long-awaited Wrangler-based pickup: Early 2018.

“Anything Jeep does has to have an inherent level of capability ... that drives some extent both the positioning of the vehicle and the cost of the vehicle,” he said. “I have no desire today to do a stripped-down” Jeep pickup.

Mike Manley ceo di Jeep ha chiarito alcuni dettagli dei futuri prodotti del marchio che indubbiamente riceve le maggiori attenzioni nel gruppo FCA.
L'erede unica della Compass/Patriot verrà svelata in Brasile a settembre, sarà in vendita negli USA nel primo trimestre 2017.
La Wagoneer non sarà una vera e propria avversaria della Range River, avrà delle versioni più lussuose ma sarà alla fine una Jeep a 7 posti.
Confermata una A-suv ( forse sarà sempre su base small wide), la Wrangler e la Wrangler pick up arriveranno rispettivamente nel 2017 e nel 2018.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly suggested that Jeep's global sales fell in 2011. The reference has been deleted.

Fiat Chrysler said Thursday it will invest $1.05 billion in assembly plants in Ohio and Illinois to bolster Jeep output.

The carmaker will invest $350 million to move production of the Jeep Cherokee from Toledo, Ohio, to Belvidere, Ill., as part of a strategy to revamp its North American manufacturing footprint over the next year and a half to focus on light-truck output in the U.S.

Output of the Dodge Dart compact car and the Jeep Compass and Patriot, which are currently made at the Belvidere factory, will cease by the end of 2016. Earlier this year, CEO Sergio Marchionne said FCA is looking to outsource production of the Dart and the low-selling Chrysler 200 to a partner.

The Compass and Patriot are being replaced by one SUV, which will be shown at the Los Angeles auto show later this year and will be produced in the Toluca, Mexico, plant.

Toledo plans

FCA said it also will invest $700 million in the Toledo North assembly plant to make way for the next-generation Jeep Wrangler. About 700 jobs will be added in Toledo, the company said, keeping in line with Marchionne’s earlier promises that switching up Jeep production would not result in job losses in Toledo.

FCA didn’t confirm any changes for Toledo South, but it is widely expected that the long-anticipated Jeep pickup truck will be manufactured there. FCA has said the Jeep pickup will be launched in early 2018.

An announcement of changes for the Toledo South plant is expected to come by the end of the third quarter.

Jeep's legacy

This week marks the 75th anniversary of Jeep, which started in Toledo when Willys-Overland Motor Co. received a contract to produce a vehicle for the American military to use on the battlefield during World War II.

The city of Toledo and JobsOhio, a regional business group, worked with FCA to keep Jeep manufacturing in the city.

“Continuing the heritage of Jeep in Toledo, we are thrilled that FCA is investing $700 million with a focus on the future of the next generation of the Jeep Wrangler,” said JobsOhio President John Minor.

Jeep sales have been a strong driver for FCA. The brand sold 1.2 million vehicles globally in 2015, its fourth consecutive year of record sales. Jeep's U.S. sales grew 16.5 percent to 468,131 during the first half of 2016.


La produzione della Dart terminerà già a settembre, una fine piuttosto ingloriosa per un modello che non era così male.
Mi domando come Maglionne manterrà la promessa di avere ancora berline in America, se stringesse un accordo subito ci vorrebbero almeno 2 anni per avere una compatta Chrysler sul mercato.

expects NAFTA profit margins to get very close to those of rivals once retooling of U.S. plants is completed

* expects to stop making sedans in US by end of Q1 2017

* there has been progress in finding partner to make Chrysler 200, Dodge Dart models

* company must rework relationship with U.S. worker union UAW in order to continue to make vehicles in the United States in future

* it would be very difficult for group to justify investment in U.S. plants in future without reworking of UAW union relationship

* does not expect additional charges in unlikely event that carmaker fails to find partner to produce passenger cars in the United States

* believes 2018 targets achievable Fiat Chrysler CFO Richard Palmer adds:

* rental agency sales made up 75 percent of Q2 U.S. fleet sales vs 80 percent year earlier

* sees liquidity of around 23 billion euros by end of 2016 Further company coverage: (Reporting by Milan newsroom)

Nell'ambito della presentazione dei risultati semestrali per la prima metà del 2016 Marchionne ha detto che l'accordo con un partner per le prossime Dart e 200 è vicino.

* company must rework relationship with U.S. worker union UAW in order to continue to make vehicles in the United States in future

* it would be very difficult for group to justify investment in U.S. plants in future without reworking of UAW union relationship

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prego?

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non posso aspettar l'Ateca...

Il Padreterno? Non vedo chi altri potrebbe garantire un po' di successo a quelle due vetture