With rumors floating around since October, today it was finally confirmed that the Fiat-Chrysler Alliance will build the new Fiat 500X and a closely related Jeep-badged small crossover at the company’s Melfi assembly plant in Italy beginning in 2014.
The announcement was made on Thursday at the Fiat plant in Melfi with company Chairman John Elkann and CEO Sergio Marchionne presenting the production plans. Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti was also in attendance.
Fiat will invest more than €1 billion (~US$1.4 billion) to bring the plant up to date and prepare for production of the two new models that will be based on the company’s new modular Small Wide platform, one of Fiat-Chrysler’s three principal architectures that complies from the get-go with U.S. regulatory standards.
According to the automaker, once the plant upgrades are complete, Melfi will have the ability to build up to four different models on the same assembly line, with a total production capacity based on three shifts of 1,600 vehicles per day.
Despite the fact that we’ve already had a peek at the Fiat 500X via a video shot during the smaller 500Ls presentation in Torino, it will be its Jeep sibling that will be produced first in 2014.
The company said the Jeep model resents the brand’s entrance into a new market segment adding that while it will be sold worldwide, Melfi will be the only plant to produce the car.
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