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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

Chrysler recalling 644k more Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs over brakes

Early last month, we reported on Chrysler issuing a preemptive, proactive recall for about 25,000 units of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. The issue revolved around a brake system that wasn't causing any actual problems, but delivered an unsatisfactory brake feel, so Auburn Hills called in a good 25,000 of SUVs around the world, including 18,700 in the United States.
Now Chrysler, having apparently determined that the brake problem on its sport utes is actually much bigger than it initially realized, has drastically broadened the scope of the recall. As a result, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a recall for precisely 655,354 examples of the Grand Cherokee and Durango, covering the 2011 through 2014 model years. In addition, Chrysler is recalling 42,380 units in Canada, 21,376 in Mexico and 159,685 overseas.
The problem which Chrysler found revolves around the brake booster, whose center shell has been found to be subject to corrosion, allowing water to get into the brake system. That water in turn could freeze, preventing the brakes from working as well as expected.

Jeep teases its Easter Safari Wrangler concepts

Every year ahead of the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Jeep shows off some wild concepts based on Jeep products. They usually don't make it to production, but they do get the fans very, very excited. If you'll remember last year, the company showed off a Hellcat-powered Wrangler concept called the Trailcat and some retro-inspired pickups, like a neo-Forward Control and one resembling the classic military Kaiser M715. This year, we're getting a sneak preview of two of the concepts Jeep will be showing off. Details are sketchy and the images aren't very revealing, but such is the way of teasers. Let's start with the Switchback, which appears to be a Wrangler Unlimited that features metal doors with large cutaways in them. They look like a cross between factory metal half-doors and the tubular trail doors that are a popular aftermarket add-on. It also appears to feature a bumper-mounted winch and a special top with a roof basket. The second concept is the Quicksand, which appears to be a two-door Wrangler with cut-down fenders, a roll cage, and no B-pillar aft of the door. Could it be a dune buggy of sorts, a Jeep analogue to the Baja Bugs or Meyers Manxs so popular in the 1960s and 1970s? It's hard to tell, but all will be revealed soon. Related Video: