Things don’t look very good at the moment for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the company whose CEO is seeking mergers via e-mails.
According to a new exclusive report from Reuters which cites suppliers familiar with the company’s plans, FCA has delayed the launch of at least a dozen current or new vehicles in North America during the last 12 months.
The list of vehicles FCA has delayed updating includes high-margin models such as the Ram 1500 pickup truck and the Jeep Wrangler SUV, five suppliers confirmed. The redesigned Ram 1500 now has moved from mid-2017 to November 2017, while the Wrangler’s introduction has been pushed back to July 2017 instead of early 2017.
The all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee may also be delayed by up to a year, while the Grand Wagoneer’s launch could slip even further. FCA is also said to have delayed the release of Jeep’s compact SUV which will replace both the Patriot and Compass. Originally scheduled to go into production in 2016, the crossover has been pushed back at least six months.
The automaker has postponed a full redesign of the Dodge Dart and Dodge Journey as well, both scheduled for mid-2016. FCA will only apply a mild makeover instead, with the all-new models unlikely to arrive before 2019-2020.
Moving on to the Chrysler brand, plans for new full-size and mid-size crossover models originally scheduled for 2017 and 2018, respectively, have reportedly been postponed or shelved. Finally, a major redesign of the full-size Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger appears to have been pushed back from mid- to late 2018 to 2019 or later.
We left the good news for the end. The same suppliers said FCA is accelerating development of other vehicles, mainly from the Alfa Romeo brand, which may get more models on a faster schedule than originally planned.
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