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| VW E-GOLF Electric |
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| Renault Zoe - Electric |
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| Fiat -500 Electric |
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| BMW -i3 Electric |
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| Mercedes B-Class Electric |
Chrysler and Fiat plan to launch an electric version of the Fiat 500
minicar packed with lithium-ion batteries from A123Systems in the U.S.
this year. It will mark the pair’s first all-electric model, and a big
year for A123 as it finds its footing as a large scale battery maker.
Chrysler tapped battery company A123Systems in 2010 as the supplier for
at least the first generation of plug-in vehicles in its planned ENVI
lineup.
Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is planning to announce plans to add 1,600 jobs at the automaker's assembly plant in Illinois next week, according two people familiar with the plans.
Earlier this month, Marchionne called the tentative agreement "a historic turning point for Fiat and Fiat Industrial."The agreement, Marchionne said, gives the two companies the ability to use its factories more efficiently with greater flexibility for overtime.
Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group LLC will move one step closer toward their planned merger next week, when Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of both companies, is expected to announce major management changes.
Fiat’s cherished Alfa Romeo brand could be headed for the scrapyard if the Italian company fails to get its act into gear, the boss of German luxury sports carmaker Porsche said Tuesday.Britain-Fiat lands monster fleet sale
Fiat UK is to supply a world-famous driving school with a fleet of Fiat 500's over the next four years - 14 000 of them! - in the middle of the biggest slump in car sales history. Fiat managing director Andrew Humberstone said Fiat was been keen to target a youthful customer profile, starting with BSM's learner drivers, about 130 000 of whom sign up each year. He said: "We know that about 70 percent of all new drivers buy the brand of car they learned to drive in, so our deal with BSM includes a special offer for learner drivers who want to buy a new Fiat once they've passed their test.
For the complete report from Business Week click on this link
Chrysler, Fiat Drive Off the Lot - by David Kiley and David Welch
Italian automaker Fiat (FIA.MI) officially began running the newly constituted Chrysler Group on Wednesday, June 10, a day after a deal was cleared by the courts enabling the Detroit automaker to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Freed from bankruptcy court, the new Chrysler Group faces a recession-wracked economy and no new vehicles for months. As arduous as Chrysler's path has seemed during the past six months—with an avalanche of negative publicity, collapsing car sales, and bankruptcy—the road ahead promises to be even more difficult. The new company will be working in a recession-weary environment, and with no significant new product arriving for months. "I would call this deal a move to salvage Chrysler, not save it, and we will have to see what comes of the salvage," says John Casesa, managing partner of New York-based Casesa Shapiro Group, an advisory firm specializing in the auto industry.
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, who will also serve as Chrysler CEO, made his first management moves on Wednesday. He named Chrysler Vice-Chairman James Press, the former U.S. head of Toyota who arrived at Chrysler in 2007, as deputy CEO. Frank Klegon, the company's product development chief, and top marketing executive Steve Landry both left the company.
A Fiat Palia running on CNG fuel
For the complete report from, The Cutting Edge News click on this link
What Does Fiat Know about CNG that Honda and the American Media Want to Ignore? by Marc J. Rauch
"In a country and world struggling to stave off the effects of economic depression and looming environmental devastation, “There’s absolutely no reason not to (use CNG),” Fiat proclaims. So why then do the American car companies, indeed all car companies building vehicles on U.S. soil (with the minor exception of Honda’s tokenistic 1,000 to 2,000 Civic GX units per year) ignore compressed natural gas, particularly since they all have had substantial experience with CNG in outside markets? And why hasn’t the Obama Administration already mandated a national transition to North American-produced CNG as one alt fuel of choice? Fiat, a major player on the world automotive scene, has not enjoyed top-of-the-mind brand awareness in America since they withdrew the last of their primary brands and models from U.S. soil in the 1990’s. Perhaps this self-induced low profile is the reason why the Fiat CNG story has not captured the imagination of the media, let alone the public. However, given the new set of circumstances revolving around Fiat’s deal with the now bankrupt Chrysler (a deal that was in the making since at least January), it would appear that Fiat might end up forcing CNG-powered vehicles on America and our pabulum-puking knee-jerk media, ironically to our own very best interest. Among the CNG benefits highlighted by Fiat are its lower cost versus gasoline per equivalent gallon, its significantly lower polluting characteristics compared to gasoline, and the safety of driving CNG vehicles. Moreover, CNG’s abundant availability from friendly "green" sources makes the fuel preferable as it does little to support OPEC and unfriendly regimes. Maybe there’ll be a happy ending to this tale, with Americans driving domestically-built sexy CNG-powered Fiats."
Marchionne to be Chrysler chief
Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of Fiat Group, has said he will also become chief executive of Chrysler once it emerges from bankruptcy protection. The troubled US automaker filed for bankruptcy last week. Fiat is taking an initial 20% stake in Chrysler, part of Mr Marchionne's plan to create a global automotive giant. Fiat is also eyeing the foreign operations of General Motors, including its Opel and Vauxhall marques in Europe and its Latin American operations
Chrysler's current chief executive Bob Nardelli will stay in his job during the bankruptcy proceedings, which are expected to last until late June.
Chrysler in Hand, Fiat Turns to Opel
Fiat SpA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne is stepping up his plan to acquire a majority stake in General Motors Corp.'s German unit Opel, the next phase of his ambitious campaign to forge one of the world's biggest auto makers by crafting a three-way alliance among Fiat, Chrysler and Opel. Mr. Marchionne is expected to meet senior German government officials in Berlin on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, in an attempt to get their support for a potential alliance with Opel. Mr. Marchionne signed a partnership with Chrysler LLC in Washington last week. Fiat's board of directors met Sunday and authorized Mr. Marchionne to seek a potential merger between Fiat and GM's European operations, including Opel and its U.K. unit Vauxhall, according to a statement issued by Fiat on Sunday. If a deal is reached, Fiat will consider creating a new publicly traded company that combines the auto maker's car unit, Fiat Group Automobiles, with GM's European operations, the statement said.
Obama auto team still undecided on Chrysler-Fiat deal - by Gordon Trowbridge and David Shepardson
The Obama Administration hasn't decided whether to approve a tie-up between Chrysler LLC and Fiat SpA, a top government adviser on the auto industry said Monday. In a telephone interview with The Detroit News this morning, Steven Rattner said the administration was still reviewing a proposed deal to give Fiat a 35 percent stake in Chrysler LLC. "We need to understand better where Fiat is at and whether that is potentially a realistic deal or not before we know where to go next on that one," Rattner said.
Cerberus Capital Management LP, a New York private equity firm, owns 80.1 percent of Chrysler and has declined to infuse any addition money into the Auburn Hills automaker. "It doesn't necessarily have to be an investment that Warren Buffet would make, but it has to be a prudent use of taxpayer money," Rattner said.
The peppy economic Fiat 500 - Chrysler
For the complete report from Yahoo News click on this link
2010 Fiat 500C ready for the US market as a Chrysler product - by Matt deLorenzo
One of the prime candidates for product sharing between Fiat and Chrysler is the diminutive 500 city car that has taken Europe by storm. If the deal holds up, we can only hope that the 2010 Fiat 500C is part of the model mix. Like the original 1957 cabriolet it is patterned on, the 500C features fixed roof rails with a retractable soft top.
European buyers can order the new 500C with a choice of three powerplants, a 75-bhp 1.3-liter 4-cylinder turbodiesel, a 69-bhp 1.2-liter and a 100-bhp 1.4-liter gasoline engines. If the 500C is exported to the U.S. or built at Chrysler's Toluca, Mexico, assembly plant, expect that it would come with just the 1.4-liter four. A car this small undoubtedly will get excellent fuel economy—somewhere in the 35-mpg neighborhood for the U.S. 500C would not surprise us one bit.
