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Fiat/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot

Maserati looking to book 13,000 sales of new Quattroporte in 2013

Europe's continuing financial woe is forcing automakers to get creative, and while Fiat may be scaling back its volume vehicles, it's looking to ramp up production of the exclusive Maserati brand. Following the debut of a new Quattroporte sedan, Fiat wants to boost Maserati sales to 50,000 vehicles by 2015. Maserati may lose as much as €7 million ($9.05 million) this year, and Fiat is betting big on Chrysler platforms and dealers to turn that around.
Currently regarded as a low-volume boutique carmaker, Maserati sold just 6,159 units last year, and 4,700 units through three quarters of this year. For 2013, Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne is targeting 13,000 in sales of the redesigned Quattroporte alone. Fiat apparently wants the brand's low volume image to change, hoping to position it closer to BMW and Porsche in the market.
The recent unveiling of the new Quattroporte will be followed by more new vehicle launches, including a crossover utility called Levante, and a long-promised sub-Quattroporte sedan, called Ghibli. The latter will share certain components with the Chrysler 300 sedan in an effort to optimize production costs. The Ghibli will be positioned to take on the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. It's all in an effort to turn the profit tide for Maserati and its parent company Fiat amidst European economic turmoil.

Fiat previews production 500X on Melfi assembly line

The Fiat assembly plant in Melfi, Italy, may not be one that appears on our radar that often. It's been in operation since 1993, but until recently only built the Punto - a model that's been around in its current form with few modifications for the better part of a decade, but hasn't warranted the transatlantic voyage to American showrooms. Fiat recently added to the Punto assembly line in Melfi the production of the new Jeep Renegade, but that's not all.
Soon the Renegade (which you can see being built in the background of the image above) will spawn the 500X, a small crossover based on the same platform but with what you can see will be a more rounded shape. Replacing the Sedici (a.k.a. SX4) that was jointly developed with Suzuki, the 500X will join the Cinquecento family alongside the 500 hatch, 500C convertible and 500L minivan, the latter on whose design we hope the 500X will prove a marked improvement.
Expect the 500X (or so it's expected to be called) to be revealed on July 4, which will mark not only the 238th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence but also the 57th anniversary of the original 500's debut.