Fiat-Chrysler Automobile Group 5-Year Plans (including all of the FCA brands)

[King T]

Newly merged Fiat Chrysler unveiled its long-awaited five-year plan on Tuesday, with Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne under pressure to show his merger is one of careful planning and forward thinking. We have already heard of how SRT is no longer a stand alone brand and will be reclaimed by Dodge (good idea). I will also post the rest of the plans Fiat Chrysler has for the rest of its brands


Fiat Chrysler debuts new logo, big 5-year plan today

Most automakers have shed brands, but Fiat and Chrysler are showering American consumers with nearly as many choices as Procter & Gamble, even as Jeep and Ram trucks remain the engines of its North American profits.

As the automaker’s leaders outline their next five-year plan today in Auburn Hills, they may spark as many questions as they answer. Will consumers, who are already migrating to pickups, midsize and small crossover utility vehicles, embrace cars from Alfa Romeo, a brand that evacuated the U.S. before the dotcom bubble inflated ?

How many new models will the flagship Chrysler brand get by the end of the decade? Can Dodge grow by appealing primarily to boy racers ?

And that’s without mentioning the plans for Maserati and Ferrari.

“I would like to really know how they are going to manage a stable of six or seven key brands with none of them as a full-line brand, or carrying a full offering,” said Stephanie Brinley, automotive analyst for IHS Automotive. “It makes for a very chaotic and non-cohesive range for consumers.”

CEO Sergio Marchionne’s team has earned credibility. Five years after bankruptcy, they have paid off loans, gained U.S. market share and generated profits robust enough to subsidize Fiat’s struggling operations in Europe.

But Chrysler is thriving on a lopsided, but profitable mix of pickups, SUVs and vans. Known by industry insiders as light trucks, those combined segments accounted for 78% of Chrysler’s sales in April. The promise that Fiat’s small car expertise would cure the glaring weakness in Chrysler’s lineup is largely unrealized.

The new Chrysler 200 sedan could change that. The completely re-engineered midsize car is expected to beat the combined sales of the model it replaces and the discontinued Dodge Avenger.

Meanwhile, the Chrysler brand has just three models — the 200, the 300 and the Town & Country minivan — and analysts question whether the company still needs its Dodge brand, which celebrates its centennial this year.

Today, Marchionne will finally say whether Dodge or Chrysler gets the next generation minivan, and provide more details about the crossover-type model the other brand will offer.

There will be an update of Alfa Romeo’s U.S. return, and more ambitious goals for Jeep in China.

“They have done exactly the opposite of what Ford and General Motors have done,” said Michelle Krebs, an independent auto analyst. “Is that the right direction to go? You have to define them carefully; you have to feed them with product. You have to support them with marketing dollars.”

In its turnaround, Ford, for example, sold Volvo, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, a stake in Mazda and ended Mercury to get down to CEO Alan Mulally’s “One Ford,” global strategy.

General Motors — once proudly known for offering “a car for every purse and purpose” — has shrunk from eight to four brands, but still offers a comprehensive portfolio of vehicles.

More focus needed
Among global automakers, only Volkswagen has as more brands than Fiat Chrysler, ranging from ultra-luxury Porsche, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Bentley, to Audi, Volkswagen, Spanish-based SEAT and Skoda in eastern Europe.

“There are a number of consumer goods makers that have multiple brands under one roof,” said Reid Bigland, who doubles as CEO of Ram trucks and Chrysler’s head of U.S. sales.

Bigland argues that some competitors that start with subcompact cars and extend all the way to heavy duty pickups can become bloated and hard to define.

“We believe at Fiat Chrysler that a single brand cannot be all things to all people,” Bigland said. “It’s pretty clear that Ferrari is Ferrari — and Ferrari is not going to get into the minivan business.”

Fiat and Chrysler prefer to offer brands with a clear personality and identity.

Dodge, for example, is a performance brand that stands on its muscle car roots. Jeep is an SUV brand with off-road capability. Ram offers pickups and commercial vehicles. Maserati and Alfa Romeo offer Italian sports car and luxury performance.

“When you look at Fiat Chrysler, you need to look at its sum, and all of our brands contribute to our sales success and our profitability,” Bigland said.

Fiat Chrysler’s strategy has advantages and disadvantages, said Andrew Martschenko, senior director of strategy for Interbrand, an advertising and marketing consultant.

“It most certainly gives you more flexibility if you have more brands,” Martschenko said. “The challenge is can you support those brands with enough products?”

Budget constraints
Mike Manley, CEO of Jeep and head of Fiat Chrysler’s international operations, said the product development budget can support each brand.

“Jeep has been lucky enough to be given the resources to really get the things that it needs to continue its growth story for many years,” Manley said.

But budget constraints have delayed Alfa Romeo’s re-introduction to the U.S. as well as the new minivan.

And even though Chrysler has delivered on most objectives of the 2009 five-year plan, it remains an also-ran in passenger car segments. The Dodge Dart, introduced in 2012 with an Alfa Romeo platform, was the company’s first new compact car in years.

Larger, heavier and pricier than the old Dodge Neon, its weight leaves it feeling underpowered. Dart sales didn’t meet expectations in 2013 and declined 28% through the first four months of this year.

In search of nameplates
Now, Chrysler is introducing an all-new 200 midsize sedan with high hopes. but with just three nameplates the Chrysler brand sells fewer vehicles in the U.S. than Hyundai, Kia, Subaru and Volkswagen.

“If you combine the 200 and Avenger volume today, you would say ‘OK, we have a little over 6% share of the midsize car segment,’ ” Chrysler brand CEO Al Gardner said. “Our goal is to do that and then some. If not, why build it?”

Meanwhile, Dodge might lose its Caravan minivan, already lost the halo effect of the Viper super car when it was reallocated to the new SRT performance brand last year, and is losing the Avenger now.

Even with fewer models, Tim Kuniskis, Dodge CEO, said the brand has a stronger identity now than just a few years ago, largely based on the muscle car image of the Charger and Challenger.

Asked what additional cars he would like to have in the Dodge lineup, Kuniskis responded, “May 6” — an indication that there will be surprises coming today.

[King T]

[Dodge]


SRT Folding Back Into Dodge as Chrysler Releases Latest 5-Year Plan

Chrysler's experiment of making SRT its own brand and making the Viper its halo car is done. SRT, and the SRT-branded Viper are dead. Long live the Dodge Viper.

After two years of going it alone Fiat Chrysler’s SRT brand is moving back into the Dodge product line. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles head Sergio Marchionne announced his five-year vision for the automaker this morning outlining the future of Dodge, which becomes the blue collar performance car flag bearer of the company with a fresh infusion of new product.

With SRT now under the Dodge umbrella, Dodge head Tim Kuniskis will take the reins of SRT from Ralph Gilles. Gilles will continue as the senior VP of design and president of motorsports for the company.

Marchionne's vision for Dodge technically began last month at the New York auto show when the 2015 Dodge Challenger and 2015 Dodge Charger were revealed. There's still more ahead for the Charger and Challenger – later this year the Charger and Challenger SRT models will get the new 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, which could make as much as 700 hp. As we've previously reported, the Dodge Avenger gets axed this year, as Chrysler takes over as the automaker's mainstream brand here in the U.S.

Next year, the Dodge Viper (doesn't that feel good to say?) officially returns to the fold, getting an update for the 2015 model year along the way.

While 2015 is a relatively slow year for Dodge, 2016 is real busy. The biggest change to the lineup is the addition of a new compact crossover. While it’s a possibility that it'll be the next-generation Journey, we think the new crossover will actually be a replacement for the Journey. Likely built on the Jeep Cherokee's platform, the new Dodge CUV will come in front- or all-wheel drive forms, with power coming likely coming from naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Also coming is an SRT version of the new crossover, sporting all-wheel drive and a high-output turbocharged engine. The Dodge Dart also gets a refresh in 2016, which will include the long-awaited Dart SRT. The Dodge Dart SRT will also get an all-wheel drive and turbocharged I-4 powertrain, allowing it to go head to head with the Subaru WRX. Though Dodge is adding a couple new models in 2016, one of its most iconic vehicles in the last thirty or so years gets the axe. The Dodge Grand Caravan – the original minivan – officially gets discontinued in 2016 while the Chrysler Town & Country lives on to see another generation.

After all the action in 2016, 2017 will be another quiet year as the Dodge Durango gets another refresh. In 2018, big things happen again. The next-generation Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger will make their debuts, as will a new unnamed subcompact sedan and hatchback. The new subcompact will likely share its platform with the Fiat Punto, giving Dodge a hot hatch to compete with the Chevrolet Sonic and Ford Fiesta.

With Dodge finally set to become what GM always wanted Pontiac to be, the future looks exciting for Dodge. Here's hoping it can live up to the hype.

Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

[King T]

Chrysler to roll SRT brand under Dodge label

Auburn Hills — Chrysler Group LLC is rolling the SRT high performance brand, which the company has used in power-boosted vehicles across its product lineups,under the Dodge brand only.

Chrysler said Tuesday that Tim Kuniskis, who has been president and CEO of Dodge in April 2013, will headthe Dodge brand and SRT consolidation into it and will continue leading the company’s fleet operations. He took over that responsibility in November 2013.

SRT, or Street and Racing Technology,became its own brand under the Chrysler Group LLC umbrella in 2011. Before that SRT — around since the early 2000s — operated as a specialty division across the entire company.

“Dodge is the American performance brand,” Kuniskis said. “This is not a new strategy. This is a purification of the brand.”

Ralph Gilles, who has been president and CEO of SRT since it became a separate brand, will continue to work as senior vice president of product design and as president and CEO of Motorsports. Gilles previously also served as president and CEO of Dodge.

Chrysler said the moves are effective immediately.

“I want to thank Ralph for his dedication to the SRT brand,” Sergio Marchionne, chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group LLC said in a statement. “Under Ralph’s leadership, the SRT brand expanded its vehicle lineup to include more highly customized models and received numerous automotive awards and distinctions.”

Kuniskis said the SRT name would be a “performance halo” under the Dodge brand as it undergoes a “purification strategy” for the brand. It listed the Viper as a Dodge under the product plan, saying it vows a number of Dodge SRT models.

It plans a mid-cycle refresh for the Viper in 2015 and this summer for the Challenger and Charger, with a Dart SRT version slated for 2016. A new Dodge Journey SRT version is slated for early 2017.

Analyst Jeff Schuster of LMC Automotive said the move makes sense with the redefinitions given of Chrysler Group brands. “SRT fits with Dodge,” he said.

The Chrysler 300 SRT will cease production, but the company will continue the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT model, the most popular SRT seller.

Schuster said there is some risk to moving SRT into Dodge, however, especially around the successful SRT Jeep model.

Chrysler in March said it was halting production of the SRT Viper in mid-April at its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant until June 23. Chrysler sold just 591 of its super cars last year.

[King T]

[King T]

[Chrysler]



Chrysler To Go Mainstream, Launch New Compact And Plug-In Hybrids

Out of the announcements made during yesterday’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles five-year strategy presentation, probably the most significant were those affecting Chrysler. With Dodge to be the performance brand of the American arm of FCA, Chrysler will serve the mainstream audience and compete with the likes of Chevrolet, Ford, Hyundai and Toyota—worldwide. If all goes to plan, Chrysler sales will reach 800,000 units by 2018 (a level reached in 2005), up from 350,000 last year.

Core attributes of Chrysler going forward will be substance and style, innovation and craftsmanship, value, and production in North America. Importantly, Chrysler will be the only FCA brand to offer a minivan, and it will also be the first to offer plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Below is a rough outline for Chrysler’s future over the five-year period starting 2014:

2014: 200 sedan launched and will be joined by a facelifted 300.

2015: No major introductions.

By 2016 we can expect an all-new Chrysler Town & Country minivan, including a plug-in electric hybrid variant that will return a claimed 75 mpg. That would make Chrysler the first to offer a hybrid powertrain in a minivan, assuming another automaker doesn’t beat it to the punch. Also arriving in 2016 will be a Chrysler 100 sedan, which will slot below the midsize 2015 200, paving Chrysler’s entrance into the C-segment. Expect a refreshed Chrysler 200 to arrive in 2017.

Also slated for 2017 will be a new full-sized crossover. No word if it’ll mark the return of the Aspen nameplate, though it should ride on the same platform as the Dodge Durango and the upcoming Jeep Grand Wagoneer that’s scheduled to hit dealerships in 2018.

For 2018, Chrysler’s product portfolio will grow again with the addition of a midsize crossover, so look for details on that model to start trickling in soon. Chrysler will launch an all-new 300 sedan in 2018, which makes sense considering the current model arrived in showrooms in 2011. Chrysler sold 350,000 vehicles globally last year so we're eager to see if its preliminary five-year plan will be enough to help it reach 800,000 sales by 2018.

Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

[King T]

Chrysler 100, midsize CUV and plug-in hybrid minivan launch bid to go mainstream

The news just keeps on rolling from Auburn Hills today, as Fiat Chrysler continues to detail its five-year growth plan. This time round, we're talking about Chrysler. The troubled American brand has been limited in the past few years to the lamentable Sebring/200, the Town & Country and the 300, although that's likely to change in the coming years.

"The Chrysler brand is not luxury – it's not premium. Chrysler is the mainstream American brand," brand CEO Al Gardner said during today's presentation.

Gardner set a sales target of 800,000 units by 2018, which marks an increase of 350,000 units compared to its 2013 sales results. That's a pretty big ask for a brand that's struggled to define itself over the past decade.

Naturally, then, Chrysler will need some new product to hit that goal. Leading the charge will be a "thoroughly refreshed" 300 sedan, which we can expect to see later this year at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Considering the 300's 2011 arrival, this fits in nicely with the average automotive life cycle.

Following the 300's refresh, 2016 will see the arrival of the Chrysler 100, a C-segment offering that will challenge the likes of the Ford Focus, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cruze. The 100 may be the most important vehicle in the Chrysler brand's five-year plan, as it will mark its entry into one of the hottest segments in the auto industry.

The new 100 won't have 2016 to itself, though, as Chrysler will launch a brand-new Town & Country, simultaneously killing its badge-engineered Dodge counterpart, the Grand Caravan. The new T&C will include a plug-in hybrid model, which Chrysler is claiming will return the equivalent of 75 miles per gallon, making it the most fuel efficient minivan on the market by a huge margin.

For 2017, Chrysler will turn its attention to the new-for-2014 200 sedan, delivering a refresh on that promising four-door. 2018, meanwhile, will see the debut of a midsize CUV, perhaps aimed at the Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. Not surprisingly, details on this one were the most scarce.

We'll have much more on the Fiat Chrysler five-year plan throughout the day, so stay tuned.

[King T]

[i2disturbedSS]

I always thought they should've just kept SRT with Dodge anyways. Lots of going back and fourth now. The Avenger also, thought a SRT version would've been very competitive. Instead they do a Caliber and now/soon to be SRT Journey. But to stay alive I guess you got to cut something out. Hope they stay sharp with all of their brands and not fall behind again.

[King T]

[Ram]


Ram 5 Year Plans

While SRT got pulled back into the Dodge fold, Ram stays as its own brand. The Ram Promaster City (Fiat Doblo) makes its debut this year, while the bigger Promaster finally gets its diesel engine. The bread-and-butter Ram 1500 gets a minor update next year, while the Ram HD series gets updated in 2016. Interestingly, Fiat Commercial – the European equivalent of Ram – gets a new midsize pickup in 2016. No official word on whether or not that comes to America, but we're betting Marchionne and his team is watching the launch of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado and 2015 GMC Canyon very closely. The next-generation Ram 1500 will debut in 2017, with the next-gen Ram HD following in 2018. Ram's goals with its next-generation pickups are to retain its lead in truck innovation by offering diesel engines, air suspension, and features like the RamBox on its new trucks. And if the Ford F-150 turns out to be a big success, Marchionne says his company "can do aluminum," Automotive News reports.

[King T]

Ram and Fiat Professional announce plans for new trucks, vans starting in 2015

Ram Trucks CEO and President Reid Bigland got his turn among the executives elucidating the near-term futures for brands in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles umbrella, laying out the plans for both Ram trucks and Fiat Professional. After Bigland said that the company "will continue to invest heavily in commercial vehicles" for the Italian arm, he didn't give many specifics as to where that investment would go. What we do know for now is that a new Fiat Doblo will come next year - that's the truck we've been catching spy shots of and that will be the basis for the Ram ProMaster City.

In 2016 will come the next-generation Fiorino, a small cargo van sold in markets outside the US as a Fiat, as the Citroën Nemo and Peugeot Bipper. The European and South American markets will also get a new midsize pickup that same year.

Bigland's goal for Ram Trucks and Ram commercial is just a touch more ambitious: "Build the best pickup trucks and commercial vehicles in the industry" and increase NAFTA-market sales from 463,000 in 2013 to 620,000 in 2018. The waypoints along that road include a refresh for the Ram 1500 in 2015 and then a brand new 1500 to come two years later in 2017. Bracketing that, a refresh for the Heavy Duty lineup happens in 2016, and two years later it will also get an all-new generation.

In the same timeframe the commercial models will get called in for a mix of updates. The ProMaster gets fitted for a diesel – a different oil-burning powerplant than the 3.0-liter in the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel – later this year. The ProMaster City also bows in Q4 of this year, and you can see a rendering of its face that we caught during the presentation. The Ram Chassis Cab is due for a minor update in 2016, major updates headed for both the Ram Commercial Light Duty line in 2017 and the Heavy Duty and Chassis Cab line in 2018.

[King T]

Ram Ramming Ram 1500 Update Through for 2015, Full (Probably Not Aluminum)Redesign for 2017

Ready to Ram? Fiat-Chrysler sure is, and revealed its designs on the Ram truck brand’s breadwinner, the 1500 light-duty pickup, at its massive 2014 Investor Day future-product info bonanza. The 1500 just underwent a refresh for 2013, which brought a rash of changes more through than they appear—new interior, new base Pentastar V-6, new eight-speed automatic transmission—but Ram will refresh the truck next year before fully redesigning it in 2017.

We figure that next year’s 1500 update will bring a more fleshed-out face-lift than the 2013 changes, which included only a new bumper, grille, and hood, but we’re most looking forward to the Ram’s full overhaul in 2017. That’s because while the 1500 is perhaps the most refined truck on the market, it certainly couldn’t be called “lightweight.”

As probably the first of Ford’s domestic competitors to release an all-new truck following the aluminum-intensive 2015 F-150′s launch, it’ll be interesting to see how Ram responds to that new entry, although it isn’t likely to be with a similar materials switch. Pestered for his thoughts on the new F-150 by the assembled media, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne replied, “Ram is prepared to go aluminum in 2017 if we wished. My gut feeling is that we will not.”

Fuel-economy expectations aren't going anywhere but up, and Ram’s needed to cut some chub from the 1500 since even before the 2013 update. Our recently departed long-term, four-wheel-drive 1500 V-6 test truck, for example, was nearly 200 pounds heavier than a four-wheel-drive, V-6–powered 2014 Silverado we also tested. As for Ram’s burlier 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty models, they will be similarly updated one year behind the 1500′s 2015 refresh and 2017 redesign.

[King T]

Fiat Chrysler plans to redesign Ram pickups; grow brand's sales to 620k vehicles by 2018

DETROIT, MI- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles expects the Ram Truck brand to increase sales 34 percent from last year to 620,000 vehicles in 2018, according to a new five-year plan announced today from the automaker.

The 2014-2018 plan includes building on significant growth in the U.S. and minor and major updates of its light-duty and heavy-duty pickup trucks.

The hot-selling Ram 1500 is expected to get a minor update next year, followed by a major update in 2017. The Ram heavy-duty is planned to follow suit with a minor update in 2016, and a major update in 2018.

As for Ram's commercial business, light-duty vans are planned to receive a major refresh in 2017 and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and chassis cabs will follow in 2018.

Since becoming a standalone brand from Dodge in 2009, Ram has managed to increase global sales 80 percent to 463,000 vehicles sold in 2013. That’s up from 257,000 in 2009.

The Ram Truck five-year plan was outlined as part of a larger plan for FCA – the merged company of Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group LLC. Executives are expected to outline a full five-year plan today for the entire company, including every brand under its umbrella.

Fiat SpA completed its acquisition of Chrysler on Jan. 21 after agreeing to pay $4.35 billion to the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, which owned 41.5 percent of Chrysler as part of the 2008-2009 auto bailout.

[King T]

[shine2013]

2018? The Charger/Challenger combo better be one hell of a car to arrive a couple years after the Camaro and probably during the Mustang refresh.