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FCA to pay buyers $1,700 to swap out of scandal-mired VWs

FCA is trying to gain some sales from arch-rival VW in the competitive European market by offering potential buyers in Italy up to $1,700 to swap into an FCA group car. While the promotion isn't specifically targeted at TDI owners affected by the emissions scandal, it is clearly intended to turn dissatisfaction with VW's defeat device cheat into additional sales, Bloomberg reports. The 500-1,500 euro incentive (roughly $560-1,700, depending on vehicle) stacks on top of any other rebates or deals applicable, and applies if a buyer brings in any of Volkswagen Group's cars – including Audi, Skoda, and SEAT, among (many) others. As Bloomberg notes, it's normal for automakers to offer "conquest" deals – giving a buyer cash for trading in a competitor's vehicle. Those deals aren't usually limited to one company's products, however; FCA's program looks specifically to take advantage of VW's legal and public relations nightmare. FCA isn't the only automaker trying this trick in Italy. Automotive News Europe also reported that Ford is offering approximately $840 in incentives across its entire range to owners of VW vehicles seeking to trade in for a Ford. No word of yet as to whether these incentives will spread beyond Italy or to other automakers.Related Video:

Here's why GM is giving Marchionne the cold shoulder

What's funny about an Automotive News story titled Why Won't GM Play Ball with Marchionne? is that few people outside of the Fiat CEO and his confidants understands why General Motors would play ball with the Italian company. Marchionne has said the combined entity could increase its annual earnings by $5 billion, but even an outside analyst that agreed with the number only conditionally agreed, saying, "If you assume some synergies and peak US cycle market conditions then, yes, they could get to 30 billion." However, that same analyst described Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as "probably the most challenged within the global industry." Not US industry – global. And before that revenue goal could be reached, the merged companies would need to wade through a bureaucratic swamp. Plus the executive, manufacturing, financial, platform, procurement, and international labor swamps, among a few others. This AN piece can be viewed as GM's response to Marchionne's assertions and offers of various "hugs." It lays out numerous reasons why a more focused and disciplined GM - one almost done with a major crisis and able to focus on its priorities - believes Fiat would be the desperate housewife in such a scenario. On the other hand, while AN doesn't have Marchionne's numbers, to get a better sense of where the Italian is coming from you should read more of the "Industry on Trial" special report. Not that it justifies the creation of a GM-FCA, but it shows that the capital expenditures considering the amount of automaker development overlap are, to the outside eye, staggering. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images Earnings/Financials Fiat GM Sergio Marchionne

Stellantis earnings rise along with EV sales

AMSTERDAM — Automaker Stellantis on Wednesday reported its earnings grew in 2022 from a year earlier and said its push into electric vehicles led to a jump in sales even as it faces growing competition from an industrywide shift to more climate-friendly offerings. Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, said net revenue of 179.6 billion euros ($191 billion) was up 18% from 2021, citing strong pricing and its mix of vehicles. It reported net profit of 16.8 billion euros, up 26% from 2021. Stellantis plans to convert all of its European sales and half of its U.S. sales to battery-electric vehicles by 2030. It said the strategy led to a 41% increase in battery EV sales in 2022, to 288,000 vehicles, compared with the year earlier. The company has “demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.” The automaker is competing in an increasingly crowded field for a share of the electric vehicle market. Companies are scrambling to roll out environmentally friendly models as they look to hit goals of cutting climate-changing emissions, driven by government pressure. The transformation has gotten a boost from a U.S. law that is rolling out big subsidies for clean technology like EVs but has European governments calling out the harm that they say the funding poses to homegrown industry across the Atlantic. Stellantis' Jeep brand will start selling two fully electric SUVs in North America and another one in Europe over the next two years. It says its Ram brand will roll out an electric pickup truck this year, joining a rush of EV competitors looking to claim a piece of the full-size truck market. The company plans to bring 25 battery-electric models to the U.S. by 2030. As part of that push, it has said it would build two EV battery factories in North America. A $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will bring one of those facilities to Indiana, which is expected to employ up to 1,400 workers. The other factory will be in Windsor, Ontario, a collaboration with South KoreaÂ’s LG Energy Solution that aims to create about 2,500 jobs. The EV push comes amid a slowdown in U.S.