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Ram and Jeep Wrangler drive Fiat Chrysler profits up 61 percent

MILAN — Italian American automaker Fiat Chrysler says fourth-quarter net profits rose by 61 percent, powered by North American sales of the all-new Ram 1500 and Jeep Wrangler. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Thursday reported quarterly net profits of 1.29 billion euros ($1.46 billion), compared with 804 million euros in 2017. Revenues rose 6 percent to 30.6 billion euros. North America profits grew by 19 percent to 6.2 billion euros, accounting for the lion's share of the automaker's global profits. The carmaker continued to have trouble in Asia, which swung to a loss due to market weakness in China and more competition in Fiat Chrysler's core SUV market. Europe also lost ground, with profits dipping 44 percent on lower shipments and weaker pricing, while Latin America more than doubled. Based on the company's earnings last year, 44,000 unionized U.S. auto workers will get $6,000 profit-sharing checks. That's $500 more than in 2017, but smaller than U.S. rivals Ford and General Motors. On Wednesday, GM announced that workers would get $10,750, while Ford workers will get $7,600.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2014 Chrysler 200 to set design tone for brand

Speaking with Wards Auto at this year's Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles said that the next-generation Chrysler 200 will launch a whole new styling direction for the brand when it arrives for the 2014 model year. Gilles did not reveal any specific design cues or elements that will be found on the next 200, only saying that the new car "shares no surface language with any previous Chrysler we've ever seen."
Indeed, the current 200 isn't exactly setting the world on fire with any sort of clever, emotive design, but Gilles knows that. "The current Chryslers on the road today certainly don't reflect where we're headed," he told Wards Auto. Instead, Gilles said that "we are deviating from where we are today, completely. It's a very different feeling (and) look."
The launch of the new Chrysler 200 will officially mean the death of its Dodge Avenger counterpart, though Gilles says that the company is working on an all-new product to replace that vehicle down the road. Still, Chrysler will need a successful player in the popular midsize segment, and Gilles fully expects the new 200 to be up to the task. "I think it's going to be a beautiful and relevant vehicle."

Dodge, Ram, Jeep — Stellantis — dumped a ton of news: Here's a roundup

Stellantis hit us with an absolute deluge of information regarding its future electric vehicle plans Thursday, including a roadmap for each of its brands to reach a goal of making electrified vehicles 80% of the company's total global volume by 2030. We'll hit all of the highlights here, with an emphasis on those that matter most to the U.S. marketplace.  Stellantis previews 4 electric platforms: Here's how they'll be used This is the method behind the rest of Thursday's madness. Eventually, Stellantis will migrate its electrified vehicles onto one of these core platforms based around a new common EV powertrain architecture.    Dodge will launch the 'world's first electric muscle car' in 2024 It looks like Dodge will invoke its 60s heritage (peep the illuminated "Fratzog" on the nose) for a new, all-electric muscle car. Based on the STLA Large platform, it's projected to have a 0-to-60 time as low as 2 seconds and a range of up to 500 miles. The automaker also hinted at a maximum power output of as high as 886 horsepower courtesy of a pair of 330-kilowatt electric motors.   Jeep will have 4xe plug-in hybrid models across the lineup by 2025 The iconic 4x4 brand will have a plug-in hybrid variant of every model by 2025. The U.S.-market Compass 4xe is expected to debut this summer, and the Wagoneer 4xe has already been announced. The Grand Cherokee 4xe will be shown at the New York International Auto Show in August.    Fully electric Ram 1500 will begin production in 2024 You didn't think the Ford F-150 Lightning would get the space all to itself, did you? Ram says it will have an electrified Ram 1500 on the market soon. Will it be fast enough to beat GM?   Stellantis teases mystery electric Chrysler concept This one's a genuine puzzler. We've reached out to Chrysler for details, but for now, all we know is that this all-electric concept appears production-friendly and will ostensibly ride on the same STLA Large platform as the Dodge muscle car.    Opel Manta E will be the electric revival of the classic German coupe We'll forgive you if you'd forgotten that Opel was now part of Stellantis, and with new ownership comes new opportunity. The company revived the Manta nameplate as a high-riding coupe/hatchback concept.   Fiat says all Abarth models to be electric from 2024 This likely won't matter much in the U.S. market, where the 500X will soon be the only vehicle it sells, but Fiat's performance division is going all-electric.