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Stellantis and LG launch joint venture for North American battery plant

Stellantis has struck a preliminary deal with battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) to produce battery cells and modules for North America, as the world's No. 4 automaker rolls out its 30 billion euro ($35 billion) electrification plan. Global automakers are investing billions of euros to accelerate a transition to low-emission mobility and prepare for a progressive phase-out of internal combustion engines. Stellantis and LGES's joint venture will produce battery cells and modules at a new facility with an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours (GWh), the two firms said on Monday. No financial details of the deal were provided. The plant is scheduled to start production by the first quarter of 2024, with groundbreaking expected in the second quarter of 2022, the companies said in their statement. Its location is under review and will be announced later. Stellantis, formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, has said it wants to secure more than 130 GWh of global battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030. The batteries produced under the deal will supply Stellantis' U.S., Canadian and Mexican assembly plants for installation in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, supporting its goal of e-vehicles making up more than 40% of its U.S. sales by 2030. The company, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Opel and U.S. best-sellers Jeep and Ram, earlier this year announced it would invest more than 30 billion euros through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup. Stellantis has said it would build three battery plants in Europe and two in North America, including at least one in the United States. Intesa Sanpaolo analyst Monica Bosio said the deal was positive, and a further step ahead in Stellantis' electrification process. It comes weeks after Stellantis and its partner TotalEnergies agreed to open up their battery cell joint venture ACC to Daimler, to expand their European sourcing of battery cells. Stellantis is also targeting more than 70% of sales in Europe to be of low-emission vehicles by 2030, and aims to make the total cost of owning an EV equal to that of a gasoline-powered model by 2026. Related video: Green Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall Electric Hybrid EV batteries LG

NHTSA preparing to wallop FCA, automaker 'failed to do its job'

As embattled the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may be, but that certainly doesn't mean it isn't willing or able to put the smack down on automakers that violate its recall procedures. Following a public hearing on Thursday, the government safety arm is preparing what will likely be some very serious punishments for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. FCA stands accused of mishandling 23 individual recalls covering some 11 million vehicles since 2013, with NHTSA claiming the Italian-American automaker kept it "in the dark," failing to notify the government of safety defects. Uncle Sam also alleges that FCA failed to notify consumers of important safety notices and didn't provide a steady supply of replacement parts. For these charges, the automaker could be fined up to $35 million per recall, which could mean a maximum of $805 million in fines. FCA could also be forced to buy back the unrepaired vehicles. "We have serious concerns with Fiat Chrysler notifications to owners and to NHTSA about its recalls. In every one of the 23 recalls, we have identified ways in which Fiat Chrysler failed to do its job," Jennifer Timian, the head of the Office of Defects Investigation, said during the FCA hearing, The Detroit News reports. The company also "repeatedly failed to provide NHTSA with other critical information about its recalls, including changes to the vehicles impacted by the recalls and its plans for remedying those vehicles." Fiat Chrysler, for its part, didn't really fight back during its hearing, although Scott Kunselman (shown above during the hearing), the senior vice president of vehicle safety and regulatory affairs at FCA, did tell The News that, "We absolutely had no mis-intent." "The plan is to move forward," Kunselman said, adding that the company has "fallen short," and that "some of the things we've done were sloppy." NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind told The News that the regulator would issue its sanctions by the end of July, adding that he saw no way that FCA could avoid punishment.

Chrysler appoints new heads of Alfa Romeo and Ram

Chrysler has announced to two key appointments to its senior leadership, both of them taking immediate effect. First up is Reid Bigland, who has been named head of the Alfa Romeo brand for North America. Bigland has served until now as head of the Ram Truck brand, a portfolio he now hands over to Robert Hegbloom, who had served until now as its director.
As a result of the appointments, both Bigland and Hegbloom will take up seats on Chrysler's NAFTA Leadership Team, and Bigland will also join the Fiat Chrysler Group Executive Council - the highest decision-making body in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire.
As per Sergio Marchionne's leadership style, Bigland will continue to serve in two major capacities, maintaining his role as president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. Other senior executives who hold multiple key portfolios include Harald Wester (who serves as the group's Chief Technology Officer and also overseas Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth), Olivier Francois (group Chief Marketing Officer and head of the Fiat brand) and Michael Manley (head of the Asia-Pacific region and the Jeep brand).