2013 Fiat 500c Lounge on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari stock sale pegged for October, or later

The Ferrari IPO is still coming, but it won't be before Columbus Day (Monday, October 12, that is), according to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne. The outspoken exec is blaming tax reasons for the fourth-quarter date, according to a report from Reuters. Marchionne said a full year needed to pass between FCA's October 13, 2014 Wall Street debut and any additional listing. This isn't the first delay in the Ferrari IPO. FCA was originally supposed to make a 10-percent offering of Ferrari during second or third quarter of 2015, before officially pushing things back to the third quarter of this year. Now, it's unclear if Ferrari will even go public before the dawn of 2016. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Marco Vasini / AP Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Chrysler Ferrari Fiat Sergio Marchionne FCA fiat chrysler automobiles

2018 Fiat 500 minicar gets more expensive with the extra ponies

Fiat Chrysler is giving a big price increase to the 2018 Fiat 500 minicar, with its newly enhanced powertrain and other upgrades adding up to as much as a $1,500 premium over the outgoing versions. Taken together with a $250 boost to destination fees for most cars, SUVs and trucks in the FCA family, and it's going to cost quite a bit more to drive the Italian subcompact. CarsDirect reports that FCA bumped the starting price for the 2018 Fiat 500 Pop by $1,500 to $17,490 for the 5-speed manual and $18,485 for the six-speed automatic. The Fiat 500 Lounge will start at $20,990, which is also $1,500 more than last year, while the top-of-the-line 500 Abarth starts at $21,740, up $750. Those figures include the $250 higher destination fee, which FCA reportedly announced to dealers in March for most 2018 cars and trucks — for example, the destination fee on a Jeep Wrangler is now an eye-popping $1,445. The destination fee is what automakers charge to ship vehicles from the factory to dealers and isn't normally included in a vehicle's advertised price. The Fiat 500 destination fee is now $1,245, CarsDirect reports ( Autoblog sought confirmation and comment from FCA but hasn't received a response). Fiat, of course, is adding oomph to the 2018 version of the 500 via a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that pushes horsepower up 33 percent to 135 ponies and 150 pound-feet of torque. It's also adding sportier suspension, brakes and exterior design, a sport-tuned exhaust and rearview camera, plus 16-inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps and a "Turbo" badge on the rear fascia. "It's important to note that we've added even more standard content in order to further enhance the fun-to-drive factor that our customers expect," spokesman Bryan Zvibleman tells Autoblog. The new price makes it more expensive than the 2019 Honda Fit, which starts at $17.085 including the $895 destination charge for a six-speed manual. It also follows a $2,000 cut in the base price of the 500 Pop for 2017. It will be interesting to see whether Fiat can hold steady on the new higher pricing without having to resort to discounts for the slow-selling minicar. FCA says overall U.S. sales of the Fiat brand fell 45 percent in April to 1,404 vehicles. According to CarSalesBase.com, the company has sold only 1,644 Fiat 500 coupes year to date, compared to 5,221 for the first four months of 2017, though the figures reflect the outdated 2017 model and don't include the five-door 500L.

Stellantis and LG announce Canadian EV battery joint venture

SEOUL — South Korean battery giant LG Energy Solution (LGES) said on Wednesday it plans to invest $1.5 billion to set up a joint venture with Stellantis in Canada. LGES owns 51% of the joint venture, tentatively named "LGES-STLA JV" and Stellantis owns 49%, LGES said in a regulatory filing. In October, LGES and Stellantis NV struck an electric vehicle (EV) battery production joint venture, targeting to start production by the first quarter of 2024 and aiming to have an annual production capacity of 40 gigawatt hours of batteries. In a separate regulatory filing, LGES said it plans to acquire a stake worth $542 million in ES America to respond to demand from EV startups in the United States. LGES is considering building a factory in Arizona to meet demand in the United States, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that the plant is expected to primarily produce cylindrical battery cells. LGES has its own factory in Michigan and two battery joint ventures with General Motors in Ohio and Tennessee. "We are considering a new production site, but nothing has been decided yet," said a spokesperson at LGES. LGES, which counts Tesla, GM and Volkswagen among its customers, currently has battery production sites in the United States, China, Poland, Indonesia and South Korea. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Plants/Manufacturing Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Electric