Fiat Considers Jeep do Brasil

With Fiat's strategic plan due to be announced on April 21, rumors surrounding what Sergio Marchionne will announce then have already began circling the web. According to the latest such info, Fiat may be considering building Jeep vehicles in Brazil, as a means to strengthen the company's presence in Latin America.

“We need to strengthen our presence in Latin America and for the next five years we will keep investing”, Marchionne said according to just-auto.com.

The statement was made by the Italian CEO during a trip to Sorocaba, where Fiat opened an expanded Case New Holland agricultural equipment plant.

The Italian carmaker operates two car factories on the continent, one in Brazil (Betim, Minas Gerais state) and one in Argentina (Cordoba). If the Jeep expansion to the region is a go, they would both need upgrading and upsclaing, pointing to the possibility (more economically savvy) of building a new facility.

As for the models to be built in the new facility, Marchionne says "the Jeep line would be the most suitable." He also added Fiat needs a medium-size pick-up truck in the region, to take on Volkswagen's Amarok. Since Jeep has no pickups of its own, this fueled speculation on possible other Fiat or Chrysler brands to be brought in.

Others pointed to a possible revival in the region of the Dodge Dakota, built by Chrysler in Brazil from 1998 to 2002.