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For his last act, Marchionne will outline an EV/hybrid roadmap this week

MILAN/LONDON — Fiat Chrysler (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne is expected to outline new plans for electric and hybrid cars in a strategy presentation on Friday, aiming to ensure the world's seventh-largest carmaker remains in the race in the absence of a merger. The 65-year-old will present FCA's strategy to 2022, his final contribution to the company he turned around and multiplied in value through 14 years of canny dealmaking. After failing to secure a tie-up he said was necessary to manage the costs of producing cleaner vehicles, Marchionne needs to show the group can keep churning out profits on its own, even as emissions rules tighten, SUV competition intensifies and worries around his succession abound. Marchionne had long refused to jump on the electrification bandwagon, saying he would only do so if selling battery-powered cars could be done at a profit. He even urged customers not to buy FCA's Fiat 500e, its only battery-powered model, because he was losing money on each sold. But Tesla's success and the need to comply with tougher emissions rules have forced Marchionne to commit to what he calls "most painful" spending. "FCA is way behind rivals in terms of hybrid and electric vehicles and they need to hit the accelerator to convince investors they can close that gap," said Andrea Pastorelli, a fund manager at 8a+ Investimenti. Germany's Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW and U.S. rivals GM and Ford have committed to spending billions of euros each in coming years to try produce profitable cars powered by cleaner fuels. FCA needs to present a clear roadmap, just like Volvo Cars, which ditched diesel from its best-selling XC60 SUV, launched a new electric brand and pledged to shift all brands to hybrid by 2019, a banking source close to FCA said, noting: "The tech divide determines winners and losers in the industry." Marchionne has already said half of the wider FCA fleet will incorporate some elements of electrification by 2022, while luxury marque Maserati will spearhead FCA's electrification drive by making all new models due after 2019 electric. But its plans remain vaguer and less advanced than most big rivals and some investors wonder about the capital required to make vehicles compliant, and what share of spending can go to electrification given FCA's numerous demands.

Maserati honors Juan Manuel Fangio with F Tributo special editions

Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio was one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Logging a record five F1 championships between 1951-57, four of them back-to-back, Fangio was the winningest driver in F1 history until Michael Schumacher won his sixth championship in 2003, almost half a century later. Maserati is now paying homage to Fangio with two special edition vehicles.  The Ghibli and Levante F Tributo commemorate Fangio's F1 victories behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F in the 1957 season. Fangio had previously won the world championship for Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz, though in 1954 he won the driver's championship while driving for both Maserati and Mercedes. The "F" stands for Fangio, and "Tributo" means "tribute" in Italian. Though Maserati does not appear to have increased performance figures for the F Tributo duo, they do come in two exclusive paint jobs. Rosso Tributo is a vibrant red inspired by the crimson hue that represented Italy in the era when race car liveries were determined by country of origin. The second color, Azzurro Tributo, is a blue that represents, along with yellow, the flag of Modena, Maserati's home. Both cars also feature yellow brake calipers and a yellow outline on their 21-inch wheels, a callback to the yellow stripe on the nose of Fangio's 250F. The yellow cues continue on the inside, where giallo contrast stitching brightens up the black leather interiors. The Ghibli and Levante are also denoted by black "F Tributo" badges on the front fenders, as well as body-colored Maserati trident logos on the C-pillars. We're not totally convinced that a luxury sedan and crossover would be the type of car Fangio would love to drive, but if this is your bag you should act quickly. Maserati hasn't said how many F Tributo cars they plan to sell, only stating that numbers will be "very limited". 

2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio prices are a mixed bag

Something happened on the way to the end of 2024, and that happening has resulted in higher-than-expected prices for the 2024 Giula and 2024 Stelvio. When Alfa announced changes for both models in April, we were informed the new Giulia Competizione trim would start at $53,115 in rear-wheel-drive form, the Stelvio Competizione trim would start at $57,420 in obligatory all-wheel-drive form. A month later, Cars Direct got wind of price cuts thanks to Alfa Romeo wanting to give buyers even more reason to put money down on la dolce vita instead of a certain Bavarian. In that report, the entry-level Giula Sprint was going to start at $44,795 after destination, the Stelvio Sprint would start at $46,370. An an Alfa Romeo spokesperson even replied to Cars Direct with, "The reduction in pricing is a lifecycle direction for Stelvio and Giulia to enhance market competitiveness." Looking at the 2024 configurator, the Giulia Sprint improves its advantage before options, whereas the Competizione is $2,345 above expectations. Prices for the 2024 Giula range after the $1,595 destination charge are: Sprint: $44,670 Ti: $47,210 Veloce: $50,970 Competizione: $55,460 Quadrifoglio: $82,970 Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversary: $90,070 What's not included here are mandatory additional costs for the Competizione and both Quadrifoglio trims; they don't offer the free white exterior paint option that the Sprint, Ti, and Veloce do. So the above sums will go up by at least $500, the least expensive exterior color option, to as much as $2,200. As for the Giulia Sprint undercutting the BMW 330i, that only happens if you want a white Giulia on the stock 17-inch wheels. The 2024 330i starts at $45,495, which is $825 above the base Giulia. But the BMW comes on 18-inch wheels, the Giulia on 17-inchers, and stepping up a rim size on the Alfa Romeo costs $1,725. BMW also offers black paint as a free option, whereas going dark on the Giulia costs $660. The Giulia does come with 280 horsepower versus the BMW's 255, so there's that. At the very top, a Giulia Quadrifoglio asking $82,970 might be a tough ask against a BMW M3 asking $81,195, never mind a $90,070 Giulia Quadrifoglio 100th Anniversary. It's the same on the Stelvio side of the fence.