Fiat 500L to remain in Serbia – Kragujevac model to get hybrid engine

The production of Fiat 500L in Serbia will continue, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Sergio Marchionne, stated on Friday, June 1, 2018.

As the Italian portal Autoblog reports, Marchionne also said that Fiat 500 was an ideal model for becoming “a 100% electric model for Europe”.

– Fiat 500 is an ideal model for going full electric. We plan to use the iconic status of this car and implement green technology in it, expanding the range of models, Marchionne stated and added that models 500X and 500L will get hybrid engines.

Presenting FCA’s five-year business strategy, Marchionne announced that Fiat’s debts would drop to zero before the end of June and that the company was turning to a greater production of electric vehicles. The business strategy pertains to the 2018-2020 period and is a great finale for Marchionne, who has been leading Fiat for 14 years.

As he pointed out, Fiat Chrysler will invest EUR 9 billion in the development of hybrid cars and fully electric cars, intending to make up for its lagging in that segment of the market. At the same time, the company will not give up on the production of vehicles with internal combustion engines.

– Reducing our dependence on oil is one of the biggest challenges our company is facing – Marchionne said while presenting the business plan.

The presentation focused on Jeep terrain vehicles, RAM trucks and premium brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo, which, when combined, make up the majority of the company’s revenues, Marchionne said.

All Jeep, Maserati and Alfa Romeo models to be launched in the next five years will have some kind of an electric engine, whereas diesel cars will be eliminated, it was said at the presentation.

Jeep will also introduce three new vehicle types: a small urban terrain vehicle for customers used to limousines and five-door cars, a larger terrain vehicle with three rows of seats and an extra large terrain vehicle.

Head of Maserati Tim Kuniskis said that the brand intended to compete with Tesla with its electric supercar Alfieri, which will feature an acceleration of 0-100 kilometers per hour in around two seconds. The brand predicts that the sales will double to 100,000 vehicles a year by 2022.

Maserati is also entering an exclusive agreement with Ferrari for all future engines, including hybrid and fully electric batteries, whereas diesel engines are to be eliminated.

BRNABIC: I am happy, everything points to Fiat’s staying in Serbia

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that everything pointed to Fiat’s staying in Kragujevac and announced that she would soon talk to representatives of the Italian-American company.

– Everything points to Fiat’s staying in Serbia and we hope to see their investment plans. I will soon talk with them in order to hear what their exact investment decisions are, but I am now much less worried about the Fiat workers and about Kragujevac itself than I was a year ago when I assumed duty and when there was a strike in Fiat – Brnabic said.

When asked whether the agreement with Fiat, which expires this year, will be extended, the prime minister said:

– We are ready for the talks, we are waiting for an offer to be made to both the workers and the state. We expect it to be in the best interest of both the workers and the state and we will respond accordingly.

Trade union waiting for more precise plans

The president of the Autonomous Trade Union at FCA Kragujevac, Zoran Markovic, said that he hadn’t expected June 1 to be the D-Day for the plant after Marchionne’s address.

– There was talk about global plans, and we are waiting for an action plant, that is, a particular plan for our factory, which will be more concrete and precise – Markovic told Beta.

As he said, the workers in Kragujevac want to know what the size of the production will be at the factory and how many workers will be hired over the five-year period.

The trade union has also been emphasizing the necessity of initiating the production of a new vehicle model at the Kragujevac plant.

– The capacity of our plant is 150,000 vehicles, and 80,000 a year are produced here. In each of the two shifts, FCA workers produce 410 vehicles each day. The May capacity has been fulfilled, and we expect June to be the same – Markovic said.

Around 2,400 workers are employed at FCA Kragujevac.

FCA Srbija Kragujevac

Vlada Republike Srbije

Fiat

Fiat Chrysler

FCA

Fiat Chrysler Serbia

Autonomous Trade Union at FCA Kragujevac

Zoran Markovic

Fiat 500L

production of Fiat 500L

electric cars

electric Fiat 500L

Sergio Marchionne

Maserati

Alfa Romeo

Fiat 500X

Ana Brnabic

agreement with Fiat

Government of Serbia

Jeep

plans of Fiat

five year plan of Fiat