1989 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio Convertible 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Alfa SUV on pace for 2016 launch

While other parts of FCA's five-year plan are reportedly being shifted around, the timeline for Alfa Romeo is holding firm. The Italian brand is now hard at work on its crossover, which arrives after the Giulia sedan. Everything is on schedule for a mid-2016 debut too, according to Automotive News, and US sales would reportedly come late that year or in early 2017. Codenamed Project 949, Alfa's crossover shares its underpinnings with the Giulia and is sized to take on premium entries in the segment, like the BMW X3, Automotive News reports. The model is the Italian brand's first production CUV. The plan for a crossover has been percolating for years, as evidenced by the 12--year-old Kamal concept (pictured above). The Giulia and CUV are two of the eight new models Alfa wants to launch by 2018. In the five-year plan, Alfa execs also discussed two compacts, another crossover, a second midsize sedan, a fullsize sedan, and a specialty product. While not all of these might come to the US, the brand has set a goal to see a dramatic global sales jump to 400,000 units. "We are taking a very hard look at the sequencing of the products that we are launching to make sure that we get the biggest bang for the buck from the utilization of the architecture in terms of volumes," FCA boss Sergio Marchionne said, according to Automotive News. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio Quadrifoglio NRING Editions come with scale models and jackets

Alfa Romeo's Quadrifoglio models, both the Giulia and Stelvio, have set some quick laps at the Nurburgring. The latter holds the SUV record, while the former was recently dethroned by the Jaguar XE Project 8. To celebrate, the company has created the NRING Edition for the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. In typical special edition tradition, it features a unique color, a matte, metallic gray, and a few other other basic upgrades, plus numbering for all 108 examples of each model. But the really special parts of these vehicles aren't actually part of the vehicles, but rather they're bonus accessories and experiences. Each car comes with a "welcome kit." It includes Sparco racing gloves, an Alfa Romeo jacket, cufflinks, shoes and a bag in which to carry everything. The last car we remember coming with its own jacket is the Mercury Marauder. On top of that, each car comes with its own 1:18 scale model. Once you've found a place for your model and are ready with your Alfa gear, you can head to Germany to participate a driving school course at the Nurburgring with your NRING Edition car. All of this makes a somewhat average special edition car something far more exciting, and as such we're not surprised it won't be available in America. All 216 cars will be sold in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But hey, if you're a wealthy car enthusiast who has been looking at Alfas, one of these could be the way to go. Related Video:

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