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FCA to Launch 13 Cars by 2021, Including Plug-In Jeep Compass and Alfa Romeo

For several years now the conglomerate formed by the acquisition of Chrysler by Fiat has been nearly absent from the auto industry in terms of new car launches.
Improved electric Fiat 500 coming by 2021 1 photo
Photo: Fiat
Of the ten car brands it owns – the most of any auto group in the world – very few have kept the pace set by the competition. The European ones especially have struggled over the past two years.

After losing its CEO Sergio Marchionne in July, FCA is getting ready to get back on track, and it will do so by pumping billions into its troubled European brands.

At a meeting with trade unions held this week at the Mirafiori facility in Turin, FCA CEO Mike Manley committed the company to spending 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) over the next two years in the production of 13 new or restyled cars.

To be launched by the end of 2021, the bulk of these new cars will be of course electrified. Fiat plans to premiere a much-improved version of the existing electric Fiat 500, which will be manufactured at the Mirafiori facility.

The Jeep Compass produced in Melfi will also get a plug-in hybrid variant, one which will be based on the platform of the upcoming Renegade PHEV. A hybrid Alfa Romeo is also included in the plan and will be manufactured at Pomigliano together with a mild-hybrid Panda.

A few millions are also to go in the development of new internal combustion engines, with special attention being paid to naturally-aspirated versions of the 1.0-liter and 1.3-liter FireFly gasoline powerplant.

“In the next few months, we will be launching employee training programs focused on hybrid and electric technologies,” said in a statement Pietro Gorlier, FCA COO for the EMEA region.

“I am convinced that, together with our workforce, we will succeed in implementing these exciting new programs in the marketplace.”
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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