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FCA goes big on little Fiat 500 EV, plans to build 80,000

TURIN, Italy — Fiat Chrysler plans to invest 700 million euros ($787 million) in an electric makeover of its iconic Fiat 500, a top executive said on Thursday, as the automaker seeks to move on from its failed bid to merge with France's Renault. FCA's chief operating officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Pietro Gorlier, announced the investment — the Italian-American company's biggest single bet on an electric vehicle — at its Mirafiori plan in Turin, northern Italy. "The plan is confirmed," Gorlier told reporters, when asked if FCA's investment in electric vehicle technology would remain unchanged after its $35 billion plan to merge with Renault, an electric car pioneer, collapsed last month. He said FCA would invest the 700 million euros to build a new production line at Mirafiori to turn out 80,000 of the new 500 BEV, its first battery electric vehicle to be marketed in Europe after a smaller, initial foray in the United States. Production will start in the second quarter of 2020, with capacity to be expanded later, Gorlier said. The 500 compact car is one of the group's most famous models, launched by Fiat in the late 1950s and quickly becoming a symbol of Italian urban design. The 700 million euros investment is part of a plan announced last year to invest 5 billion euros in Italy up to 2021. In abandoning its merger offer for Renault, FCA blamed French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Featured Gallery Fiat 500e Green Chrysler Fiat Electric

Question of the Day: Most heinous act of badge engineering?

Badge engineering, in which one company slaps its emblems on another company's product and sells it, has a long history in the automotive industry. When Sears wanted to sell cars, a deal was made with Kaiser-Frazer and the Sears Allstate was born. Iranians wanted new cars in the 1960s, and the Rootes Group was happy to offer Hillman Hunters for sale as Iran Khodro Paykans. Sometimes, though, certain badge-engineered vehicles made sense only in the 26th hour of negotiations between companies. The Suzuki Equator, say, which was a puzzling rebadge job of the Nissan Frontier. How did that happen? My personal favorite what-the-heck-were-they-thinking example of badge engineering is the 1971-1973 Plymouth Cricket. Chrysler Europe, through its ownership of the Rootes Group, was able to ship over Hillman Avanger subcompacts for sale in the US market. This would have made sense... if Chrysler hadn't already been selling rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galants (as Dodge Colts) and Simca 1100s as (Simca 1204s) in its American showrooms. Few bought the Cricket, despite its cheery ad campaign. So, what's the badge-engineered car you find most confounding? Chrysler Dodge Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki Automotive History question of the day badge engineering question

Autoblog Minute: FCA hit with record fine, issues recall and buyback

FCA, found in violation of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, agrees to buyback recalled models as part of record penalties issued by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The cars in question are more than half a million Chrysler vehicles with defective suspension parts that could cause cars to lose control, and more than a million Jeeps that are prone to deadly fires. Autoblog's Eddie Sabatini reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute, with expert commentary from Pete Bigelow. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA faces record penalties as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds the automaker in violation of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. I'm Eddie Sabatini and this is your Autoblog Minute. Penalties for the automaker include submitting to increased government oversight, a hundred and five million dollar civil penalty, as well as, mandates to buy back defective vehicles from owners and payment for repairs. The cars in question are [00:00:30] more than half a million Chrysler vehicles with defective suspension parts that could cause cars to lose control, and more than a million Jeeps that are prone to deadly fires. Autoblog's Pete Bigelow discussed the NHTSA findings with us. [00:01:00] [PETE BIGELOW INTERVIEW] This fine and buyback recall, combined with the 1.4 million vehicles recalled over remote hacking concerns makes for a rough couple of weeks for FCA. For Autoblog, I'm Eddie Sabatini. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals.