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Share price falls on skepticism of Chrysler-Fiat five-year plan

Following this week's Fiat Chrysler extravaganza, where the Italian-American manufacturer announced its plans for the next five years, the Autoblog staff was cautiously optimistic of the company's future. Investors? Not so much.
Fiat saw its shares tumble 12 percent in Wednesday's trading, falling from 8.67 euros ($12.06 at today's rates) to 7.44 euros ($10.35) as of this writing, with blame partly going to the Italian half of the FCA marriage, which recorded a pretty significant drop in profits during the first quarter of this year.
The plan, which will cost around $77 billion over the next several years, is facing criticism from investors thanks in part to a 1.4-percent drop in Fiat's first-quarter profits, to 622 million euros ($862 million). That figure is also short of Bloomberg analysts' projections, which predicted $1.18 billion in profits before taxes, interest and one-time items.

2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Review: A fun compact SUV with a green spin

Pros: Fun to drive with great steering; potent power and torque; usable electric range; beautiful design Cons: Cramped back seat and tiny cargo area; some chintzy interior bits; other PHEVs are more efficient While there plenty of choices within the small luxury SUV segment, there are some niches that have not been well-explored. The 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale manages to fit two of them. It is one of the few plug-in hybrids, while also catering to those who love to drive (and look good doing it). Nothing else manages that one-two-three punch of delivering fuel economy, fun and style. In terms of size, the Tonale is on the smallest end of the luxury SUV world, joining the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes GLA-Class and Volvo XC40, but offers substantially more power along with the unique characteristic (for the segment) of electric driving range, all for just a couple thousand more than the base models of those options. There are a couple larger and more efficient plug-in hybrid options from Lincoln and Lexus, but they're not nearly as engaging to drive. The sporty Mini Countryman plug-in hybrid, meanwhile, isn’t quite a luxury model. As such, the Alfa is a unique offering well worth your attention. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Trim Levels   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2024? The Alfa Romeo Tonale is a completely new model for 2024. What are the Tonale interior and in-car technology like? The Tonale's interior design is clearly in the vein of the Stelvio and Giulia. The dash is curvy with big round air vents and a double-barrel instrument cowl. It has sporty details like the starter button on the dash, and when optioned, beautiful and satisfying aluminum shift paddles that wouldn't be out of place in a Ferrari or Lamborghini. We love the pops of color provided by the exterior-matching dash panel in the Ti and Veloce, or even better, by the optional configurable multi-color panel that can replace it. Some of the materials around the cabin look and feel too budget-oriented for a luxury vehicle, but on the whole, it's a solid cabin. Fortunately, the Tonale does not take its infotainment inspiration from the Stelvio and Giulia. Instead it gets a Uconnect system like its twin, the Dodge Hornet, as well as other newer Chrysler vehicles.

Coming Alfa Romeo large CUV to be an electric Italian Dodge Durango?

In the middle of 2022, Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato told Reuters the Italian carmaker would develop a new battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. that would launch here in 2027. Created for markets that prize large SUVs, he said, "Our offer for a large size vehicle must fit international markets, American, Chinese, European." At the time, he cast doubt on whether the model would be as large as a BMW X5 (195 inches x 78.9 inches), and suggested it could combine crossover and sedan form factors. Imparato wouldn't be drawn on the production site for this new vehicle, but Reuters believed it probably won't be built in the U.S. Six months later, in January of last year, Imparato shared a few specs of the coming EV SUV with Automotive News Europe, by then called a "high-performance SUV" with motors putting out from 300 to 800 horsepower in the standard range and around 1,000 horsepower in a Quadrifoglio trim, and an 800-volt architecture would enable "recharging times of 18 minutes max." At this point, this SUV had also officially become a competitor to the X5, the BMW almost exactly 10 inches longer than the Stelvio (pictured), which is currently the largest product in the Alfa Romeo portfolio and the best-seller in the U.S. What had stayed constant was the potential of a tweener shape, Imparato having said that aerodynamic needs could lead to a shape between a sedan and a crossover.  With all that said, a post in a forum on of Spain's Cochespias (via Mopar Insiders) pinpoints the production site for the Alfa: The Detroit Assembly Complex - Jefferson plant in Detroit that builds the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. The information comes from what appears to be a clip from a spreadsheet identifying current and future assembly sites and annual production figures. A line for the "E-CUV EV," this E-segment Alfa Romeo, refers to the assembly complex by its previous name, Jefferson North. The next-generation Grand Cherokee and Durango will sit on Stellantis' STLA Large platform, same as this flagship Alfa Romeo. The Grand Cherokee enters production at Detroit Assembly in 2026, the Durango in 2027. The spreadsheet shows production projections for the Alfa variant of 1,961 units for 2027, 10,715 units for 2028.  The next-gen Giulia and Stelvio, also on the STLA Large platform, are going to be built in the company's Cassino, Italy plant, so they can keep their geographical references.