{"id":137700,"date":"2019-06-28T11:16:54","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T15:16:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=137700"},"modified":"2019-06-28T11:16:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-28T15:16:54","slug":"exclusive-fca-has-big-news-coming-in-electrification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2019\/06\/exclusive-fca-has-big-news-coming-in-electrification\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: FCA Has Big News Coming in Electrification"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Fiat will go almost exclusively electric with products like the next generation of this 500e.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not all that long ago, former Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne was asking potential customers not to buy the automaker\u2019s all-electric Fiat 500e because it lost too much money on every one of them. Just months before his unexpected death, Marchionne began to shift his position on battery power but FCA has remained an industry laggard.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about to change, or so says Micky Bly, the Italian-American automaker\u2019s new global powertrain chief. In an exclusive interview with TheDetroitBureau.com, he promised that FCA will try to reposition itself as one of the industry\u2019s leaders in electrification \u201cover the next 12 to 18 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not leaders now,\u201d said Bly, who was a pioneer in the battery-car space while working at General Motors, \u201cbut we will be soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

(2020 will be a slow year for FCA, but the automaker has some product plans to follow 2020, says passenger car chief Kuniskis.<\/span><\/em> Click Here<\/span> for the story.<\/span><\/em>)<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Exactly what is in store, Bly wouldn\u2019t say, stressing that Fiat Chrysler doesn\u2019t talk about future product. But several FCA sources, as well as some well-placed outsiders, gave some solid hints as to what is in the works. And that covers a broad gamut of the company\u2019s products, from economy to luxury cars, from people-movers all the way up to some of its highest-performance offerings.<\/p>\n

Chrysler hasn\u2019t completely steered clear of battery power. The all-electric Fiat 500e made its debut during the 2013 model-year. And though Marchionne seemed to be speaking half in jest when he asked consumers not to buy it \u2013 because it cost $10,000 more to build than Fiat could sell it for \u2013 potential buyers took him seriously, demand barely registering as an asterisk on the sales charts. FCA followed up three years later with the Pacifica Hybrid, which is actually a plug-in, rather than a conventional hybrid. And 2019 saw the launch of FCA\u2019s Jeep Wrangler with a \u201cmild,\u201d or 48-volt hybrid system.<\/p>\n

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Waymo plans to buy over 60,000 hybrid versions of the Pacifica minivan.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But these mark just the beginning, it seems, with FCA expected to roll out an array of products that will include mild and conventional hybrids, as well as more advanced PHEVs and full battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still no clear indication consumers are demanding electrified products, said Bly, especially in the U.S., but the need to move forward, anyway, is driven by two words: \u201cgovernment compliance.\u201d Automotive engineers proved unexpectedly good at upping the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, he said, \u201cbut now, we\u2019re at an inflection or a tipping point, or whatever buzzword you want to use. You can\u2019t get much more efficiency out of a gasoline engine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tough new regulations have led to explosive growth of plug-based vehicles in China, while demand in Europe for electrified vehicles is also rising fast. As for the U.S., even if the Trump Administration rolls back the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards, Bly expects that FCA and its rivals will still need to turn to battery-based drivetrains moving forward.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, he stressed, it is no longer effective to craft different drivetrain technologies for individual markets. FCA needs a broad and cohesive global approach.<\/p>\n

In his final major move before his death last summer, CEO Marchionne announced that the automaker would invest 9 billion euros, or more than $10 billion, in electrification. Michael Manley, who succeeded the FCA founder last July, has only accelerated plans.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Adding a mild hybrid system could punch up the performance of a muscle car like this Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Among Manley\u2019s key moves was signing on Bly, a trained powertrain engineer, who has been working on battery drive systems since taking on the helm of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid program in 2006. He subsequently moved to Europe with GM, then left to work with a supplier focusing on electrification before moving back to the States and the FCA job two months ago.<\/p>\n

Unlike some key competitors, Bly told TheDetroitBureau.com \u201cWe\u2019re not going to make batteries. It\u2019s not in our DNA.\u201d It is drawing up plans to work with some of the four top global battery suppliers, instead.<\/p>\n

Moving the electrification program forward had been one of the potential benefits of the proposed FCA-Renault merger that was scuttled by the French government earlier this month. Renault and partner Nissan are considered leaders in the field. Fiat Chrysler could yet seek a new partner, or at least form a more limited alliance \u2013 much as BMW and Jaguar Land Rover recently announced. But it is prepared to take the lead on its own.<\/p>\n

(Japanese Government Catching Blame for Collapse of FCA-Renault Merger Talks.<\/span>)<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Bly said he is \u201ctasked\u201d with developing a broad electrification strategy that will come to market within the next three to five years.<\/p>\n

While he declined to discuss individual projects, FCA has already confirmed some of them. Tim Kuniskis, who oversees a number of brands, including Dodge, as well as Alfa Romeo and Maserati, last year confirmed that the two Italian brands will add a range of electrified powertrains. The reborn Alfa 8C supercar will be a plug-in hybrid, and hybrid drivetrains, in various forms, will serve as the highest performance versions of Alfa and Maserati products in the future \u2013 a strategy several key exotic competitors are following. The new Ferrari SF90 Stradale, for example, is a PHEV.<\/p>\n

As for Dodge, the brand has built a performance halo with products like the Charger and Challenger Hellcat models. Though Bly declined to specifically confirm whether there would be an electrified powertrain in the brand\u2019s future, he said \u201cit has a role,\u201d and notified that, even with the new Charger Hellcat Widebody making 707 horsepower, \u201cpeople want more than (what\u2019s available) today.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Dodge Up Performance Ante With Charger Hellcat Widebody and Scat Pack Models<\/span>)<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
FCA may be working up an all-electric version of the Dodge Portal concept shown at CES in 2017.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Several FCA insiders broadly hinted that the Hellcat driveline could be paired with a mild hybrid system similar to what is now on the Wrangler. Weighing less than 100 pounds, it could add more than 130 pound-feet of torque, \u201cand who\u2019s going to bitch about that,\u201d said Sam Abuelsamid, a senior analyst with Navigant Research.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the spectrum, despite weak demand, there will be a new Fiat 500e. Expected to debut in 2020, FCA marketing chief Olivier Francois told Top Gear magazine earlier this year that it will get an entirely unique platform, rather than trying to modify the architecture used for the conventional Fiat 500. That could mean improved range, as well as performance and handling.<\/p>\n

While FCA is working on a variety of different hybrid models, sources indicate, including mild, conventional and plug-in, all-electric models will clearly take a greater role, Bly broadly confirmed.<\/p>\n

Two very strong possibilities include a BEV version of the Pacifica, noted analyst Abuelsamid. Waymo, the Google spin-off setting up an autonomous ride-sharing network, has already committed to purchasing more than 60,000 of the plug-in version of that minivan. But it would prefer to go with something all-electric, Waymo has indicated publicly.<\/p>\n

Much speculation centers around another people-mover that FCA appears to be developing, the Dodge Portal first shown in concept form at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. That model, several sources suggested, could prove even more appealing than the Pacifica as Waymo begins its national roll-out.<\/p>\n

For his part, Bly would only say that \u201cThere are a lot of (electrified) products coming.\u201d But he confidently predicted that the roll-out will convince even the company\u2019s biggest critics that it intends to lead, rather than follow when it comes to electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

(Order a Pizza, Pay for Gas and More with FCA’s Updated Uconnect<\/span> System.)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: Micky Bly helped launch the world’s first plug-in hybrid, the Chevy Volt. Now, as FCA’s new powertrain chief, he’s leading the charge to transform the company from battery-car lagged to an industry leader, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7,8,5,10,13,12,9],"tags":[],"make":[33,36,45,46,49,51,53,54,58,68,69,82],"post-state":[],"category_old":[118,140,208,149,150,151,205,123,274,195,287,228,131,246,173,319,142,155,299,191,259,262,171,152,243,154,241,253,132,199,159,125,121,139,162,128,291,278,288],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137700"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=137700"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=137700"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=137700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}