Things haven’t been easy for the folks over at FCA these last few years. Launched as a desperate merger between the struggling Chrysler and directionless Fiat, they sought to combine the strength of the Jeep and Ram nameplates with the small car market that the 2009-financial collapse demanded.
That led to the reintroduction of Fiat and Alfa Romeo to North American shores. The 500 was introduced to these markets as a solution to the growing demand for practical, fuel-efficient vehicles, as consumer tastes briefly swung away from large SUVs. It also gave Dodge something to sell that wasn’t based on a decades-old Mercedes platform. Instead, it was the Dart, a Guilietta that was force-fed growth-hormones to make it palatable to US tastes.
Years later, it’s clear to see that it hasn’t been a huge success. While enthusiasts salivated at the announcement of the Giulia Quatrofoligio, a far sexier alternative to the M, S, and AMGs of the world, it’s reputation hasn’t been great.
Instead, outside of their rocksteady pickup and Challenger sales, the company has languished.
There have been recent moves toward merging with Groupe PSA, which owns Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel, and Vauxhall. Reports of an agreement are currently going and back and forth. If they do come to an agreement, it will result in the fourth-largest automaker, after Toyota, VW Group, and GM, respectively.
FCA Plan for a Future it Struggles to Meet
In the meantime, FCA is laying out its plan for the next few years. This includes the discontinuation of the 500, and strips back upcoming Alfa models. Instead, there’s a renewed focus on Maserati, with the intent to position it as an alternative to Tesla.
The luxury brand has recently been restructured, swallowing a $50 million loss to bring its valuation back in line. This includes repositioning itself as an electric-based nameplate. A hybrid Ghibli is announced for next year, with an Alfieri coupe for 2020, and a drop-top the year following. The new sports car will be available as both a hybrid and a full EV.
This will mark the beginning of every future Maserati being offered with a battery-powered engine, be it as a hybrid or all-electric. This includes the Levante crossover, as well as a smaller crossover. Even the Quattroporte variants will be hybrids.
Alfa Romeo, on the other hand, will be scaled back. The Giulia and Stelvio will continue on, to be joined by the Tonale compact crossover, and another crossover. Any planned cars have been scrapped, though, including the previously announced 8C.
Fiat will continue to sell its Jeep-based 500X and 500L here but have given up on trying to sell small cars to uninterested Americans. They’ll keep those efforts elsewhere in the world.
If they do combine with Groupe PSA, they’ll benefit from much of the technology that the French holding company brings. That will also help them shift away from buying carbon tax credits off of Tesla to make up for their high CAFE levels.