2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo on 2040-cars

Auto blog

EV cost burden pushing automakers to their limits, says Stellantis' CEO Tavares

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said external pressure on automakers to quickly shift to electric vehicles potentially threatens jobs and vehicle quality as producers struggle with EVs' higher costs. Governments and investors want car manufacturers to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, but the costs are "beyond the limits" of what the auto industry can sustain, Tavares said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference released Wednesday. "What has been decided is to impose on the automotive industry electrification that brings 50% additional costs against a conventional vehicle," he said. "There is no way we can transfer 50% of additional costs to the final consumer because most parts of the middle class will not be able to pay." Automakers could charge higher prices and sell fewer cars, or accept lower profit margins, Tavares said. Those paths both lead to cutbacks. Union leaders in Europe and North America have warned tens of thousands of jobs could be lost. Automakers need time for testing and ensuring that new technology will work, Tavares said. Pushing to speed that process up "is just going to be counter productive. It will lead to quality problems. It will lead to all sorts of problems," he said. Tavares said Stellantis is aiming to avoid cuts by boosting productivity at a pace far faster than industry norm. "Over the next five years we have to digest 10% productivity a year ... in an industry which is used to delivering 2 to 3% productivity" improvement, he said. "The future will tell us who is going to be able to digest this, and who will fail," Tavares said. "We are putting the industry on the limits." Electric vehicle costs are expected to fall, and analysts project that battery electric vehicles and combustion vehicles could reach cost parity during the second half of this decade. Like other automakers that earn profits from combustion vehicles, Stellantis is under pressure from both establishment automakers such as GM, Ford, VW and Hyundai, as well as start-ups such as Tesla and Rivian. The latter electric vehicle companies are far smaller in terms of vehicle sales and employment. But investors have given Tesla and Rivian higher market valuations than the owner of the highly profitable Jeep and Ram brands. That investor pressure is compounded by government policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union, California and other jurisdictions have set goals to end sales of combustion vehicles by 2035.

Last Jeep Wrangler JK rolls off the line in Toledo

Say goodbye to the Jeep Wrangler JK. After more than 2.1 million models made since production began in 2006, a white 2018 Wrangler JK Rubicon Unlimited rolled off the line Friday at FCA's plant in Toledo, Ohio, as the last of its kind and as factory employees snapped photos. Fiat Chrysler is planning to retool the U.S. Toledo Supplier Park plant for an all-new Jeep pickup truck for launch in the first half of 2019. The final Wrangler JK will become one of the Jeep brand's show properties. "We take great pride in the role we have played in the history of this vehicle and the impact it has made in the Toledo community," Chuck Padden, the Toledo Assembly Complex manager, said in a statement. "We look forward to bringing that same commitment to the all-new Jeep truck." The JK has been on the road since 2007 and was built as part of a co-location concept with suppliers Kuka and Hyundai Mobis, which managed the manufacturing processes of the body and chassis, respectively. They'll also oversee those same responsibilties with the forthcoming Wrangler pickup, which is expected to begin production in the fourth quarter and hit showrooms in April 2019. We've been limited to spy shots of heavily camouflaged versions of that vehicle, which is tentatively called the Scrambler, though there were those ostensibly well-educated renderings from the Jeep Scrambler Forum a few weeks ago. FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has said he expects the new pickup to sell around 100,000 units per year, and the Toledo plant has an annual capacity of about 300,000 units. Meanwhile, FCA is continuing production of the Wrangler through the new Wrangler JL, which is being built on the north side of the Toledo Assembly Complex as part of a $4.5 billion production realignment to boost the Jeep and Ram brands. The Wrangler JL gets a 3.6-liter V6 that makes 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. It's also available with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which generates 268 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, available only with an eight-speed automatic transmission, for an extra $3,000 (technically it's $1,000 for the four-cylinder engine and $2,000 extra for the eight-speed trans). A 3.0-liter diesel version is also due of the four-door version in 2019. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: FCA Jeep Truck SUV Off-Road Vehicles FCA jeep wrangler jl

Fiat-based baby Jeep spotted testing in US and Europe

Details remain scarce, but our spy photographers have managed to capture the upcoming Jeep B-segment crossover for the first time, testing in both the Alps and in the US. Shown here as a cobbled-together Fiat 500L mule, the new Jeep model is expected to arrive for the 2015 model year and act as a replacement for the current Compass and Patriot models.
According to our shooter, the new "baby Jeep" will share a platform with the Fiat 500X, and both models will be built on the same assembly line in Turin, Italy. We can't tell much from these images, but the added length apparent on this 500L mule would seem to dispel the recent speculation that the new entry-level Jeep model would be sized closer to the Ford Fiesta - since the 500L is already considerably larger than the Fiesta. Powertrain options will likely mirror other Fiat/Chrysler collaborative vehicles like the Dodge Dart, but this Jeep will also try to live up to its off-road roots with an optional all-wheel-drive system.