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Chrysler Pacifica reportedly getting updated design and eAWD system for 2021

Chrysler is preparing to give the Pacifica and Voyager minivans a comprehensive mid-cycle update, according to a new report. Both models are scheduled to make their debut in early 2020. The Pacifica currently shares styling cues with the 200, a sedan discontinued after the 2017 model year. The team of stylists tasked with updating it returned from the design well inspired by the third-generation Town & Country released for the 1996 model year, and the 300, the firm's only sedan. Mopar Insiders described a sportier look characterized by a bigger grille, and sharper-looking headlights with LED accents. New-look rear lights connected by a light bar will round out the nip and tuck. The publication added camouflaged prototypes will hit the road in early 2020. The Voyager added to the range for the 2020 model year is a cheaper, less equipment-rich variant of the Pacifica. While it will receive the same updates as its more expensive sibling, it might not come standard with the aforementioned LEDs. Expect other minor trim differences inside and out, too, but the two nameplates will continue to share a basic design. The Dodge Grand Caravan is finally retiring in 2020, so the Voyager will become the ever-important entry point into the group's minivan range. The same report sheds light on the mechanical changes Chrysler has in store. The firm will give buyers in the market for an all-wheel-drive minivan an alternative to the Toyota Sienna by adapting Jeep's plug-in hybrid technology to the Pacifica. Called eAWD, the system consists of a battery-driven electric motor integrated into the rear axle. It delivers through-the-road all-wheel drive, meaning there's no connection between the front and rear wheels, and clever packaging makes it compatible with Chrysler's Stow and Go seats. The gasoline-electric setup will make the Pacifica a rear-wheel drive electric car on short trips, while improving its gas mileage the rest of the time. There's no word yet on what will be under the hybrid, all-wheel-drive model's hood. Jeep's upcoming Compass and Renegade hybrids use a turbocharged, 1.3-liter four-cylinder, but that sounds a little bit small for a reasonably big van developed with the American market in mind. Motorists not interested in going hybrid will likely still have the venerable 3.6-liter V6. And, whether the Voyager will be eligible to receive the new hybrid powertrain remains unclear.

Stellantis sees vehicle loan durations extended amid banking turmoil

Stellantis is seeing clients seeking longer-term financing and leasing deals for their vehicles as a consequence of higher global interest rates, the carmaker's head for the business said. Chief Affiliates Officer Philippe de Rovira said loans which normally had a three-year maturity were now increasingly moved to four years. "This allows customers to get a car for a monthly instalment that is similar to that they had before," he said. The world's third largest carmaker by sales on Tuesday announced it had completed a plan announced in late 2021 to reshuffle and simplify its leasing and financing operations in Europe. Under its terms, Stellantis created a 50-50 single long term multi-brand leasing company named Leasys with Credit Agricole Consumer Finance. It also set up local joint ventures in European countries for its new Stellantis Financial Services unit, formerly Banque PSA Finance, with BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Santander Consumer Finance. "These banks have always had better funding conditions than those we can have as an automaker," de Rovira said. Benefits of the plan included cutting the number of financing and leasing entities the group runs in each country and the number of IT systems it uses, with expected savings exceeding 30% in this particular area, he added. De Rovira said the group had a huge portfolio of orders it had not yet delivered due to supply chain shortages impacting production. "Demand is not our main issue. The issue is to deliver as fast as we can cars that are in our order portfolio, which is still at record levels," he said. The group aims to expand its corporate leased vehicle fleet to more than one million units in 2026 and to double net income from its so-called banking activities to 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion) by 2030. De Rovira said Stellantis was not seeing a downward trend in vehicle pricing. "Probably the significant price increases we have seen in 2021 and 2022 will not be repeated because the context is changing, but for the moment we don't see decreases, we see stabilisation". ($1 = 0.9188 euros) (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume; Editing by Jan Harvey) Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM

Continental Automotive recalls 5 million airbag control units

Takata isn't the only supplier having airbag problems. Rival manufacturer Continental Automotive Systems announced a recall of 5 million airbag control units fitted to vehicles from Honda, Fiat Chrysler Automotive, Mercedes-Benz, and even a certain Chrysler-based Volkswagen. This sweeping recall has actually been in progress for some time, although the exact scope is only now becoming evident. In October of 2015, Mercedes-Benz recalled 2008 and 2009 model year C- and GLK-Class vehicles because their Continental-made airbag control units could corrode. Such a condition could cause the airbags to deploy without cause or warning, or in the event of a crash, not deploy at all. You can read all about it in our post from last year. Now, Continental's recall is going wide. Alongside the already recalled C and GLK, you've already heard about the 2008 and 2009 Honda Accord airbag recall, which we reported on yesterday. Now, Fiat Chrysler is announcing the recall of the 2009 Dodge Journey, as well as the 2008 and 2009 Dodge Grand Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country, and their rebadged counterpart, the Volkswagen Routan. Yes, one manufacturer is recalling another manufacturer's vehicle. The models listed above only amount to about 580,000 vehicles out of 5 million bad airbag control units. And since Continental will notify manufacturers who will then issue their own recalls, it's extremely likely that more brands and vehicles will be ensnared. Stay tuned. Related Video: News Source: NHTSA via Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Fabian Bimmer / Reuters Recalls Chrysler Dodge Fiat Honda Mercedes-Benz Safety Crossover Minivan/Van Sedan FCA