Fiat Chrysler Wants To Bring New Models To The Market Faster

Fiat Chrysler is planning to streamline the development process of new or updated models, so they can bring them to market faster than before.

This reorganization, which will be led by FCA’s Chief Technical Officer Harald Wester, is the company’s answer to a rapidly changing technology landscape, according to CEO Mike Manley, who talked to Detroit Free Press.

“The industry has never experienced technological change at the pace we are now seeing, so we’re unleashing the creative energy of our engineers and technical experts for the benefit of our customers and stakeholders worldwide,” Manley said.

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Fiat Chrysler has already announced its plans to reduce complexity and speed up the decision-making process, investing 9 billion euros (around $10 billion) for the launch of 30 new electrified models worldwide. These include plug-in hybrid vehicles from Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Maserati, as well as a new battery-electric Fiat, among others.

FCA’s thinking is similar to that of Ford’s, where CEO Jim Hackett is also pushing to bring design concepts into the real roads faster. Speeding up the process means that the car maker must get rid of many layers of approvals and bring the final decision-making at the lowest possible level, a concept that has been a signature feature of the tech world for some time now.

We still don’t know however if the merger with the French PSA Group will accelerate these changes; reports suggest that when the two car makers complete their union, the vast majority of their models will migrate to just two platforms from PSA. There’s talk also about Fiat Chrysler using the Alfa Romeo-exclusive Giorgio platform on more models from now on, including the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee.