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FCA profits surge in second quarter

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles gave the cash register a beating in the second quarter, improving its net profit to 333 million euros ($364M US), which is a 263-percent jump over its reported Q1 profit of 92 million euros ($108M US). At the same time, FCA improved its global profit margin to 7.7 percent. Compared year-over-year, in Q2 2014 FCA reported net profit of 197 million euros making this year's Q2 a 69-percent increase, and profit margins a year ago were 4.9 percent. The two big factors for this increase are strong NAFTA sales and Jeep. In the US alone, Jeep sold 222,940 units in Q2 this year, a jump of almost 20 percent over the same period last year. Revenue in the NAFTA region totaled $18.8 billion, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes were $1.45 billion, both of those numbers more than doubling compared to 2014. The vastly better numbers come on marginally more global sales, 1,181,000 units sold in Q2 2014, 1,193,000 units sold in the same span this year. In the US, FCA began charging dealers one-percent more for vehicles to up the margins, a move that helped boost its US margin from 4.1 percent a year ago to 5.8 percent the first half of this year. The company is holding steady on its guidance of global deliveries at 4.8 million and its net profit guidance at $1.1 to $1.3 billion. It has increased its adjusted outlook for the year to $120.5 billion in revenue, and EBIT to "over $4.93 billion." News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Jeep FCA

Why a Renault-FCA merger could be good news for Nissan, Mitsubishi

TOKYO — Nissan's advanced technologies including platforms and electric powertrains could give it leverage in a merger involving Renault and Fiat Chrysler, thanks to a royalty system it has with the former, two people with knowledge of the matter said. A merged Renault-Fiat Chrysler could face an extra hurdle each time it uses technology developed by Nissan or Mitsubishi Motors, while the two Japanese automakers stand to gain a client in Fiat Chrysler (FCA), one of the people said. Both sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Nissan's technology, particularly in electrification and emissions reduction, could give it some sway in the $35 billion potential tie-up between Renault and FCA, even as its stake in the newly formed company would be diluted. Currently Renault SA pays less for technology developed by Nissan than the Japanese automaker pays for French technology, a third person said. This has long been a sticking point for Nissan, and an area where Nissan could seek more favorable terms. "Whenever Nissan transfers platform, powertrain or other technology to Renault, there is a margin or royalty which Renault has to pay for use of that tech," one of the people said. "In that sense, FCA, if everything went well, would become another 'client' of ours and that's good. More business for us." A Nissan spokesman declined to comment on its royalty system. The potential Renault-FCA deal has complicated the Japanese automaker's already uneasy alliance with Renault. A further deal with Fiat Chrysler looks likely at least in the near term to weaken Nissan's influence in the 20-year-old partnership. Renault owns a 43.4% stake in Nissan and is its top shareholder. Nissan holds a 15% non-voting stake in Renault and would see that diluted to 7.5% after the FCA deal, albeit with voting rights. The imbalance between the two has long rankled Nissan, which is by far the larger company. Alliance imbalance Renault had previously angled for a merger with Nissan but has been rebuffed by CEO Hiroto Saikawa. Securing benefits from the merger deal will be important for Saikawa, who is grappling with poor financial performance while he struggles to right the company after the ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn last year.

Chrysler says its 8-speed transmissions will save 700 million gallons

Chrysler Group's TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission could be earning some serious green bragging rights if the company's projections are correct. The recently widely proliferated automatic gearbox, which is now in more than a million vehicles around the world, is poised to save drivers an estimated 700+ million gallons of fuel over the vehicles' lifetimes (an expected cost savings of $2.5 billion). In addition, Chrysler expects a reduction in CO2 emissions by more than six million metric tons. According to Chrysler, and depending on the vehicle, the TorqueFlite can improve fuel economy. The TorqueFlite autobox features particularly close ratios from fifth to eighth gear (see the press release below for the specific numbers), and uses low-viscosity fluid that doesn't need to be replaced. Transmission software adapts to the driving situation to optimize efficiency based on driver behavior, temperature, grade, stability control, and longitudinal and lateral acceleration. The TorqueFlite is capable of handling a variety of duties. As evidenced by the wide range of vehicles Chrysler Group has seen fit to equip with the eight-speed transmission, the TorqueFlite is capable of handling a variety of duties. Since its 2012 introduction, the TorqueFlite has gone from performing cog-swapping duties in Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 models equipped with the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 to changing gears in vehicles such as the Pentastar- and Hemi-powered Dodge Durango, Jeep Grand Cherokee and even the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. For the 2015 model year, the eight-speed is finding its way into even more vehicles with the addition of a third version. In addition to the American-made TorqueFlite 845RE and 8HP70, the new 8HP90 will be manufactured in Saarbrucken, Germany. The 8HP90 is designed for higher torque loads, making it ideal for high-performance vehicles like the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat. The already-in-use 8HP70 will expand its duties to be used in 2015 Hemi models such as the Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Challenger SRT8. You can see the list of those benchmarks in Chrysler's press release below.