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FCA denies report it's pulling Chrysler brand from Japan

TOKYO - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles denied it had decided to pull the plug on the Chrysler brand in Japan, after local media reported it was planning to stop selling the US cars in the country as early as next year following years of poor sales. "Although FCA Japan has already announced its intention to concentrate its resources on the Jeep brand ahead, no decisions have been made regarding (the) Chrysler brand," the automaker said ion Monday. The Nikkei business daily reported that the European-US automaker, which also sells the Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Abarth brands in Japan, was close to deciding to throw in the towel on the Chrysler brand, which posted sales of less than 300 vehicles in 2016, having fallen steadily since around 2000 and are about a tenth of what they were a decade ago. FCA sells only one Chrysler model in Japan, the full-size 300s sedan, which is sold at the company's Jeep dealerships. FCA's Fiat brand, which includes smaller models, and its Jeep brand have been growing in the country. Last year they sold around 6,700 and 9,400 units, respectively, making them top 10-selling foreign branded vehicles in the Japanese market. However, foreign cars constitute a small portion of the total Japanese auto market, which is dominated by domestic brands. Last year, 295,000 foreign-branded new cars were sold in the country, roughly one-tenth of total new vehicle sales. Reporting by Naomi TajitsuRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2017 Chrysler 300S Sport Appearance Package: New York 2016 View 12 Photos Auto News Chrysler Fiat Jeep Sedan FCA

Stellantis tells UK: Change Brexit deal or watch car plants close

LONDON - British car plants will close with the loss of thousands of jobs unless the Brexit deal is swiftly renegotiated, Stellantis has told the UK parliament, the latest in a series of warnings from the industry since the country left the European Union. The world's No. 3 carmaker by sales and owner of 14 brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat said that under the current deal it would face tariffs when exporting electric vans to Europe from next year, when tougher post-Brexit rules come into force. "If the cost of EV (electric vehicle) manufacturing in the UK becomes uncompetitive and unsustainable, operations will close," Stellantis said in a submission to a House of Commons committee examining the prospects for Britain's EV industry. Stellantis urged the government to reach an agreement with the European Union about extending the current rules on the sourcing of parts until 2027 instead of the planned 2024 change. In response, a government spokesperson said the business secretary had raised the issue with the EU. "Watch this space, because we are very focused on making sure that the UK gets EV and manufacturing capacity," Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday at a British Chambers of Commerce event. The potentially existential problem facing Britain's car industry is closely tied to the shift to EVs. Under the trade deal agreed when Britain left the bloc, 45% of the value of an EV being sold in the European Union must come from Britain or the EU from 2024 to avoid tariffs. The problem is that a battery pack can account for up to half a new EV's cost. Batteries are also heavy and expensive to move long distances. Experts have been warning since Britain left the EU at the end of 2020 that the country would need a number of EV battery gigafactories or potentially lose a hefty chunk of its car industry. Only Japan's Nissan has a small EV battery plant in Sunderland, with a second one on the way. Cost of failure Britishvolt, a startup which received UK government support for an ambitious 3.8 billion pound ($4.80 billion) battery plant at a site in northern England, filed for administration in January after struggling to raise funds. The company was then bought by Australia's Recharge Industries, which has yet to unveil plans for the site.

Refreshed Chrysler 300 SRT won't be sold in NA

It looks like it might be time to bid farewell to the V8 rumble from the Chrysler 300 SRT - at least if you live in North America. The reported change comes as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reshuffles its ranks with the Dodge brand, re-absorbing SRT and building its muscular reputation with the Challenger and Charger Hellcat models. Meanwhile, Chrysler is taking a more mainstream approach, and that likely means the end of overt high-performance models from the division for now.
According to Automotive News, the 300 SRT will be discontinued in the US for 2015, but it won't be totally dead. Some right-hand drive markets will still get the brawny V8 sedan next year, a distinction that goes a long way toward explaining some spy shots we've seen recently.
The 300 SRT's North American demise probably shouldn't come as a total shock. In FCA's five-year plan, it says that the 300 is destined for a refresh to be unveiled later this year, presumably at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. There's no mention of the SRT model in the document, though, which seems to signal its end.