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Alfa Romeo will gain a Jeep Compass-based SUV

It was reported earlier this week that FCA would invest into its Italian factories to ramp up production at currently underutilized locations. Those plans have now been clarified with official information from FCA, as reported by Automotive News. The entire investment is worth $5.7 billion. First of all, Alfa Romeo will gain a new compact SUV based on the Jeep Compass architecture. The still-unnamed model will be available as a plug-in hybrid, and it will be built in Pomigliano, Italy. No U.S. availability has yet been announced, but it would not be odd to see the Compass-based model sold below the Stelvio in the States. The last time Alfa Romeo had anything similar in its model portfolio was when it offered Crosswagon-badged four-wheel-drive versions of the 156 and 159 wagons. As for the Jeep Compass itself, it will begin to be built at the Melfi plant in Italy. The rumored small "baby" Jeep slotting under the Renegade has not yet been officially mentioned. Fiat will introduce a battery electric 500, built in Turin, and the Pomigliano plant that will make the compact Alfa Romeo SUV will also be used to build a mild hybrid version of the Panda city car. The 500X will gain a PHEV variant. The Stelvio platform will also spawn a corresponding SUV for Maserati, and FCA also mentioned Maserati will introduce a new, unnamed model it will make in Modena. Automotive News quotes Italian press as saying this will be the Alfieri coupe and convertible, also offered as battery electric versions. Related Video:

Infiniti looking for a new boss after Christian Meunier leaves to lead Jeep

Nissan's premium division Infiniti is expected to announce a new acting global chief for the brand, the company said, after its current head, Christian Meunier, left to lead the Jeep unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Nissan's chief quality officer Christian Vandenhende will oversee Infiniti's global operations effective immediately, until a new brand chief is named, Infiniti said in the statement on Tuesday. Meunier, 51, was named Infinit's global chief in early January after its previous boss Roland Krueger left the Hong Kong-based brand. Meunier will take over as global president for SUV-focused Jeep effective immediately, Fiat Chrysler said in a separate statement. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley had been running Jeep until he was elevated to the top job in July after the death of Sergio Marchionne. Meunier has international experience from his years with Ford, Land Rover, Nissan and Infiniti, which may prove valuable as Jeep attempts to expand overseas with a lineup of new products including the Gladiator pickup, a Wrangler plug-in hybrid, and the revived Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer nameplates. He's worked mostly in sales and marketing roles, including as senior vice president of sales, marketing and operations for Nissan North America; chairman of Nissan Canada; and his recent role heading up Infiniti. An Infiniti spokesman said Meunier's resignation was not related to Nissan's internal investigation into its former leader Carlos Ghosn.

Sergio rethinks FCA-GM merger idea, dismisses critics

After many public overtures, Fiat Chrysler Automotive CEO Sergio Marchionne has claimed his company won't be making a hostile takeover bid for General Motors. This is despite widespread speculation that FCA's desire to merge was motivated by its allegedly dire situation. As one unnamed GM exec who spoke to Automotive News earlier this year put it, "Why should [GM] bail out FCA?" "We are not choking. We are in relatively decent shape," Marchionne told journalists attending an FCA shareholder meeting in Amsterdam, AN reports. "We have been publicly rebuffed, we have been rejected and you cannot force these things. I don't want to. At the moment, we have no intention to do anything hostile." Instead of focusing on merging with GM, or any other partners for that matter, FCA will refocus on implementing its ambitious five-year investment plan, which would see it dump $52 billion into its various brands, with a particular focus on Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Jeep. So far the attempt has largely been unsuccessful, especially as it relates to the Italian brands. Earlier this week, additional reports emerged that claimed Alfa was pushing back the Giulia and an unnamed CUV while reassigning resources to updated versions of the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks. This is not the first time we've heard about trouble for the Giulia, of course. For Masearti, though, it was the first we'd heard of delays for Alfieri sports car, which allegedly won't appear in 2016, as promised. We can expect a proper breakdown of FCA's adjusted plans when Marchionne and Company reveal an updated product slate next month. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Alfa Romeo Chrysler Fiat GM Jeep Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA