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Another blow for Canadian autoworkers: FCA to lay off 1,500 at Windsor

Fiat Chrysler says it will cut a third shift at its Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, meaning layoffs for 1,500 workers in response to softening sales of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Separately, FCA announced it was moving up the scheduled two-week shutdown at the plant by one week, to the weeks of April 1 and 8. It's the latest blow for blue-collar autoworkers in Canada, who have been rocked by the potential closure of GM's assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, after production of the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS ends later this year. It will be the first time since 1993 that FCA's Windsor plant has operated on just two shifts, but the shutdown that began this week marks the third time the plant has been shut down this year. The Detroit News reports that action at the Windsor plant would be effective Sept. 30. It quoted Dave Cassidy, president of Unifor Local 444, at a news conference late last week: "People's lives — 1,500 direct families — depend on us," he said. "We're going to do everything possible to make sure we maintain three shifts. Everyone knows our product in Windsor is No. 1, and if you want to build it right, you want to build it in Windsor." FCA says it's making the cutback to better align production with demand. Through the first two months of 2019, U.S. sales of the Pacifica were down 24 percent to 14,817, with sales of the Grand Caravan, which is also built in Windsor, down 27 percent to 19,634. For the full-year 2018, Pacifica sales were flat at 118,322, while Grand Caravan sales rose 21 percent to 151,927. In Canada, the Pacifica saw a 3 percent drop in 2018 to just 5,999. FCA says it plans to offer retirement packages to eligible employees and will try to place laid-off hourly workers in open positions elsewhere as they become available. The company in February announced plans to invest $4.5 billion across the river to build a new assembly plant in Detroit and expand production at five other local plants in a move that will see it create 6,500 new jobs, pending certain assistance from the city of Detroit. The new Detroit plant will transform the existing Mack Avenue Engine facility into a production site for the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee and a new three-row Jeep SUV. That plan alone is said to involve 3,850 new jobs.

2015 will be the biggest year ever for cars at CES

Like the SEMA Show, major automakers are paying increasing attention to the CES, with 2015 expected to be one of the most auto focused yet. Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, Hyundai, Mazda, Audi, BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will all be in attendance when CES 2015 kicks off next week, taking up a record-breaking 165,000 square feet of space at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "We've come a long way from a single car on a carpet," Ford's Alan Hall told Bloomberg. Unlike SEMA, or a more traditional auto show, like the upcoming festivities in Detroit, CES doesn't necessarily focus on entire cars or the way they perform, but on the way our technology will interact with vehicles, and in how those vehicles will deliver information to drivers. "CES has become a major launch point for a lot of the big automakers," IHS tech analyst Mark Boyadjis told Bloomberg. "CES is a way for them to get on a global stage for technology." As for what kind of wares automakers will trot out in Las Vegas, we already know that BMW will show off an autonomous i3 electric car that can navigate its way through a multistory car park and can be hailed via a smartwatch app. According to Bloomberg, Hyundai will show off its own smartwatch app for the Genesis sedan, while Audi and Mercedes-Benz will show off autonomous vehicles next week. Automakers won't be the only companies looking to capitalize on CES. Tech firms, like chipmaker Nvidia, are becoming increasingly involved in the automotive game and will be in town showing their wares off to OEMs. "Two years ago, our booth would have been filled with PCs and people playing video games," Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director for automotive business, told Bloomberg. "This year we made a strategic decision to shift the focus of the booth on automotive and de-prioritize some of the other things." Needless to say, you can expect to see a lot of news out of Las Vegas come next week. Stay tuned. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Julie Jacobson / AP CES Audi BMW Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Hyundai Mazda Toyota Volkswagen Technology CES 2015

Stellantis reveals STLA Large platform with EV and ICE support

Hot on the heels of a Jeep Wagoneer S teaser and photos of the prototype next-generation Dodge Charger (or Challenger), comes a reveal and details of what will likely underpin both of them: the STLA Large platform. It's one of multiple Stellantis flexible architectures that will be the basis of its upcoming electric cars, and apparently internal combustion ones, too. Stellantis says the STLA Large platform will be for D- and E-segment cars, crossovers and SUVs. In other words, it will be for midsize and large vehicles. For reference, lengths supported will be from 187.6 to 201.8 inches, and width will range from 74.7 to 79.9 inches. It will be highly flexible, too, with Stellantis claiming significant amounts of adjustability in overhangs, wheelbase, suspension placement and powertrain arrangement. The powertrain flexibility is quite impressive. Front-, rear- and all-wheel-drive layouts will be supported. Single- and dual-motor layouts will be on offer. Internal combustion will be available, too, either on its own or as a hybrid. Apparently engines can be fitted either longitudinally or transversely, too. Battery packs with between 85 and 118 kWh of capacity will be offered, with Stellantis claiming that sedan-style vehicles could have a range of up to 500 miles. The packs will also be available in 400- and 800-volt designs. Stellantis noted also that the platform can "easily accept future energy storage technologies when they reach production readiness." This seems to hint that the company is looking at different battery chemistries and maybe even solid-state batteries that could be added more easily in the future. Furthermore, the platform is designed to handle impressive output. Stellantis says that some models on the platform will have 0-to-62 mph times in the 2-second range. Limited-slip differentials for improved power delivery and wheel-end disconnects for reduced mechanical drag are also on the table for this platform. All of these details fit well with the information previously given for the concept Dodge Charger Daytona Banshee and Jeep Wagoneer S. The former was previewed with both battery voltage architectures and a wide range of electric powertrains with between 456 and 670 horsepower depending on specification and upgrades. And that's just for the 400-volt system; the 800-volt option wasn't detailed. We've also seen photos of the Charger chassis seemingly with provisions for gas engines, likely versions of the Hurricane I6.