Rumors of a Maserati sale, fostered by the hiring of McKinsey to advise on the effects of import taxes, hit Reuters early today. Stellantis immediately responded that Maserati is not for sale. Maserati, like many other niche sport-luxury marques, has gone in and out of profitability, with a relatively small lineup and small but high-dollar … Read more
ACEA, which lobbies for the European auto industry and publishes regular media reports on the benefits it brings, helped 15 automakers to form a cartel to control vehicle recycling, according to the European Commission. They raided the companies three years ago and found evidence of collusion from 2002 through 2017. The ACEA organized meetings among … Read more
Stellantis has started making the Jeep Avenger 4xe in its Poland plant, supplementing the battery-electric and e-Hybrid versions. The Jeep Avenger is a subcompact vehicle created for sales outside North America; the first variant was a battery-electric. It was attractive enough to win the European Car of the Year award for 2023 and to garner … Read more
According to a release by Stellantis, in advance of full ACEA figures, the company had the best market share of the last year, with an 18.1% overall market share and 14.1% EV share. Stellantis would be the second biggest seller of both regular vehicles and BEVs, and the top seller of commercial vehicles, with a … Read more
A last-minute burst of electric car sales brought their market share to 13.6% for the year, dropping their overall share from 15.7% in 2023. One reason was the rise of hybrid-electric vehicles, which gained by nearly 20 points, moving from 3.4 million to 4.1 million sales. Plug-in hybrids also suffered, dropping by a larger amount … Read more
The new Fiat 500e has proven to be a popular option for prospective EV owners who are interested in a small, inexpensive and efficient city car. They are surprisingly comfortable and fun to drive – which is why I added one to my personal fleet alongside my Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my new 2025 … Read more
Peugeot said it “built on its proven 701 km (436 mile) range” of the STLA Medium platform by driving an E-3008 electric crossover from Paris to Nice, with two recharging stops. They maintained a speed up to the highway limit (130 km/h or 81 mph). The trip from Paris to Nice is around 933 km … Read more
Around 60,000 Dodge Hornet R/Ts and Alfa Romeo PHEVs are being recalled in the US and elsewhere because the brake pedal can collapse, causing the driver to lose braking power. There have been 15 cases around the world, with one crash and no injuries. If the brakes fail on any car, the driver can use … Read more
Yesterday, Stellantis issued a cautionary notice on its 4xe Jeeps, which overshadowed a hefty number of recalls from other automakers. Ford, for example, had two recalls, one on 2024 Explorers whose battery cable may short-circuit, and one on 2024 Bronco Sports which can stall. The widest recall may have been on BMW/Mini/Rolls-Royce, with a panoply … Read more
Two sets of cars sold by FCA US have been recalled; hundreds of thousands of cars are affected, mostly (based on sales over the last years) Jeep Renegades. First, 332,000 Italy-made cars had a seat belt buckle sensor which may be badly connected so that the front airbag will not work; the airbag is programmed … Read more
Fiat’s Tychy plant in Poland has started to make Leapmotor cars under a joint venture which will ease the Chinese company’s entrance into Europe, according to Reuters. Stellantis’ leader warned about the impact of inexpensive Chinese electric cars on Europe, as had Fiat’s leader, before forming a joint venture with a Chinese company to bring … Read more
The insurance industry’s safety testing group, IIHS, reported that the Jeep Wagoneer had the highest possible rating (“good”) in their program, earning it a Top Safety Pick rating. Their tests take into account standard camera-and-radar pedestrian crash-avoidance technology, as well as both daytime and nighttime performance. In other news, Fiat announced a new special edition … Read more
Stellantis did wel lin Europe in the first quarter of 2024, with a 5.4% sales increase and market share rising from 18.3% to 19.2% for the quarter. Stellantis also has a 30% total share on commercial vans, and 14% on battery-electrics—despite its CEO’s frequent litany of complaints about electric cars. Electric car sales rose by … Read more
The former Fiat, now FCA Italy, confirmed a hefty number of layoffs, blaming electrification—which is appropriate for around 100 jobs at the Pratola Serra engine plant, but unlikely to be the root cause for laying off 850 people from the Cassino engine plant or 300 at Mirafiori. The news comes via Reuters days after rumors … Read more
Former tuner brand Abarth will be turning 75 years old soon, and Stellantis is celebrating the anniversary with a special exhibit within its Heritage Hub in Turin. The exhibit will have 38 vehicles including the first 500 tuned by Carlo Abarth, which set six records at Monza. (No Abarth vehicles are currently sold in the … Read more
As Dodge prepares to launch its new Challengers and Chrysler continues to figure out its mission, Fiat has announced the launch of a new vehicle every year until 2027. Fiat and Dodge owner Stellantis announced that the new product was made possible by Stellantis’ new global platform, presumably meaning STLA Small, which is based on … Read more