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Stellantis wants to outfit cars with AI software to drive revenue

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis announced a strategy Tuesday to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands, hoping the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform the car company into a “sustainable mobility tech company,” with business growth coming from features and services tied to the internet. That includes using voice commands to activate navigation, make payments and order products online. The company is expanding existing partnerships with BMW on partially automated driving, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn on customized cockpits and Waymo to push their autonomous driving work into light commercial vehicle delivery fleets. StellantisÂ’ embrace of artificial intelligence and expansion of software-enabled vehicles is part of a broad transformation in the auto industry, with a race toward more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in automobiles. Ford and General Motors also are banking on dramatically increased revenue from similar online subscription services. But the automakers face immense competition for monthly consumer spending from movie and music streaming services, news outlets, Amazon Prime and others. Stellantis, which was formed from the combination of PSA Peugeot and FCA Fiat Chrysler, said the software would seamlessly integrate into customers' lives, with the capability of live updates providing upgraded services over time. New products will include the possibility to subscribe to automated driving features, purchase usage-based car insurance or even increase the power of the vehicle with a tune-up to add horsepower. As a baseline, Stellantis generates 400 million euros in revenue on software-generated services installed in 12 million vehicles. To meet the targets, Stellantis will expand its software engineering team of 1,000 to 4,500 in North America, Asia and Europe. More than 1,000 of the expanded team will be retrained in house. Stellantis also announced a new partnership with Foxconn to develop semiconductors to cover 80% of the companyÂ’s needs and simplify the supply chain. The first microchips from the partnership are targeted to be installed in vehicles in 2024.

Alfa Romeo 8C and GTV: Classic names revived as high-powered hybrids

BOLOCCO, Italy — There were grand plans for Alfa Romeo at FCA's last five-year plan. By 2018, we were supposed to get eight new products, including a new "specialty" vehicle. In reality, we've gotten the Giulia and Stelvio. At this year's follow-up, Alfa Romeo brand head Tim Kuniskis called the last plan ambitious, but he offered a new vision that was both more realistic and more far-reaching. Beyond doubling down on utility and electrified vehicles, by 2022 Alfa has plans to revive both the 8C and GTV names as high-performance hybrids. Since 2014, Alfa sales are up 160 percent, with an estimated 170,000 vehicles to be sold in 2018. The North American market counts for 16 percent of that, up from nothing back in 2013. Future products will focus on Alfa's current strengths: styling and performance. Look for new compact and full-size utility vehicles to slot on each side of the Stelvio. Plans for a larger sedan seemed to have been nixed, though a long-wheelbase version of the Giulia will make it to the ever-increasing Chinese market. The most exciting news obviously comes from the return of the 8C supercar and GTV sports car. We have few details, but what we do know looks promising. The 8C will use a carbon-fiber chassis with a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6. More than 700 horsepower will be sent to all four wheels thanks to an electrically-driven front axle. The car should hit 62 mph in fewer than 3 seconds. The GTV will be slightly more tame, though Alfa is promising more than 600 horsepower from its hybrid powertrain. The four-seater will also have all-wheel drive, torque vectoring and a 50/50 weight distribution. The brief teaser image shows a car that looks like a two-door Giulia, though it's unclear if we'll actually get a new coupe. Electrification, autonomy and connectivity are coming, too. Obviously, the 8C and GTV will get electrified powertrains, but look for each Alfa Romeo model to have some sort of electrification available. Look for six plug-in hybrids with all-electric ranges of more than 30 miles. Level 2 and 3 autonomous systems are coming, too. Related Video: Design/Style Earnings/Financials Green Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Coupe Crossover SUV Hybrid Luxury Performance Supercars FCA alfa romeo 8c

Alfa Romeo will be expanding its lineup beyond the Tonale

Last night, speaking with the press, Senior Vice President and Head of Alfa Romeo North America Larry Dominique gave us an idea of the Alfa lineup in the near future. The brand will be expanding its offerings, but not by too much. Alfa will eventually have five key models. It will have two offerings in the C-segment (Tonale-size), two offerings in the D-Segment (Giulia/Stelvio-size) and one in the E-segment (larger than Giulia/Stelvio). And as implied by our size clarification, we already know what most of those are, with the Tonale taking the C-segment SUV slot, and the Giulia and Stelvio for the D-segment. Dominique said the second C-segment vehicle would be something more car-like than the Tonale, though he wouldn't commit to saying it would specifically be a sedan. So it's possible it could be some kind of hatchback or maybe a coupe-like SUV. He was more vague about the E-segment vehicle. Considering the car market, some kind of SUV would seem most likely. As previously reported, this E-segment machine will arrive in 2027 with a wide range of electric powertrains from 300 to 1,000 horsepower. All of these new models will be fully electric. That includes the next-generation Giulia and Stelvio. The Tonale won't be going completely electric just yet, but it seems reasonable to assume a new generation model will be. Dominique noted that the Tonale, which is only offered with a plug-in hybrid in the U.S., is a good way to start introducing both dealers and customers to the idea of electrified Alfas. Apparently these five segments are the limit for Alfa for the time being. Dominique said that those models will cover more than 80% of premium buyers, and Alfa is trying to be "efficient" with how it covers the market. So don't expect the myriad bodystyles and niches from German brands such as BMW and Mercedes. There is one possible exception: a sports car. Dominique said that they're always interested in a sports car or halo product. He wouldn't commit in any way to such a product, though. With that being said, there's already been one teaser for something that might be just such a special sports car, maybe called 6C, a few weeks ago. We doubt that Alfa will launch a sports car that will stick around like the 4C, it will probably just be limited production cars that can be sold out quickly. Related video: A Night With Giulia