Another day, another product launch pushed back for the Fiat-Chrysler alliance – or so a report from Autonews Europe claims. This time it’s Jeep’s small crossover, which we only know by its codename B-SUV.
The Jeep model, which will be smaller than the Compass and Patriot, was supposed to enter production at Fiat’s Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, next year, but now its introduction has been delayed for the second quarter of 2014.
The Italian company reportedly made the decision in order to concentrate on the presentation of its own Fiat-branded version that will replace the Suzuki SX-4-based Sedici, which is built by the Japanese carmaker in Hungary.
Earlier this week, Fiat announced that it would push back a €1 billion expansion of the Mirafiori plant’s capacity by a year, from 2012 to 2013, as it was forced to cut down on spending due to the deteriorating economic climate in Italy as well as the whole of Europe.
As a result, the factory will not be able to produce enough cars to satisfy both the Fiat and Jeep brands next year. Therefore, Fiat took the decision to give priority to its own version of the B-SUV to help increase its sales in Europe.
Once the expansion is completed, the Mirafiori plant will be able to produce 280,000 compact crossovers a year.
