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Baby Jeep to join Renegade in FCA's plan for new Italian-built models

FCA is boosting its European production, introducing new models that will be built in currently under-utilized manufacturing facilities. Among the new models is a new small Jeep, smaller than the current Renegade, as Automotive News reports. FCA's Mike Manley mentioned the entry-level Jeep model earlier this year, also saying that the vehicle is targeted to European and possibly Latin American customers; in the summer, Autocar placed the launch date in 2022. The new "baby" Jeep would be made in the same factory in Pomigliano, Italy, as the small Fiat Panda, which is a top seller in Italy. The current generation Panda was introduced in 2011; if it gets a replacement in 2022, it could possibly share a platform with the Jeep model — or, the Jeep could be an eventual outright replacement for the Panda. One of Fiat's earlier core products, the Punto hatchback, was canned in August, and that production capacity will be used to make the Jeep Compass instead, at the Renegade-producing Melfi factory in southern Italy. The Compass has not previously been built in Europe. The Fiat model portfolio would be shrunk to just the 500 model family and the Panda — the 500 would also be FCA's key electric vehicle offered in Europe. It is not yet clear whether the electric 500 would be made in Turin, Italy, or in Poland; Turin might also get a Giardiniera-badged wagon version of the refreshed 500. As for the Alfa Romeo brand, it is set to gain an even bigger SUV model than the Stelvio, based on the Maserati Levante's platform. The Levante's sales have suffered recently in China, but Maserati does have light in the horizon: The Alfieri 2+2 grand tourer is still in the cards, with a launch expected for 2020 and both a convertible and an electrified version planned to follow. The Alfieri would be made in Modena, Italy, according to Automotive News' sources. None of these plans namedrop the storied Lancia brand, which has been shrunk to just the Ypsilon hatchback, based on the same platform as the current 500 and Panda. Despite that, the Ypsilon was again the second-bestselling car in Italy after the Panda in October. It is unlikely that FCA will be able to ignore this, but it is just as unlikely that any development money will be afforded to come up with a replacement for the Ypsilon, which is as similarly old as the Panda. Perhaps official announcements expected on Thursday will also clarify what will happen to Lancia.

Maserati makes 328-foot-long trident with 80 Grecale test mules

Maserati delayed the launch of the Grecale, its long-awaited second SUV, from November 2021 to the spring of 2022, but that doesn't mean the test mules and the engineers tasked with driving them are taking a sabbatical. The company is still testing prototypes all over the world, and it brought 80 pre-production models fully draped in camouflage to a test track in Modena, Italy, to create a giant trident emblem. Over 250 development models are racking up miles in Italy, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, China, Japan and the United States, according to the Italian firm. About a third of them gathered near the company's home town to form the 328-foot trident. It's a stunt that allowed Maserati to release a handful of cool images, but it teaches us little about the Levante's baby brother, which will be aimed at the Porsche Macan. Luckily, Maserati also released a couple of images that show four prototypes parked in front of the Milan Cathedral. We can tell that the Grecale borrows a handful of styling cues from the MC20; it's not simply a scaled-down Levante. Its headlights are oval and nearly vertical (the Levante's are thin and almost horizontal) and its grille looks wider and thinner. Earlier spy shots suggest that the Grecale wears a roofline that leans more towards sport than utility; it's not a utilitarian people-hauler with the proportions of a school bus. Unverified reports claim that Maserati will build the Grecale on an evolution of the Giorgio platform that underpins Alfa Romeo's Stelvio and Giulia models. If that's accurate, rear-wheel drive will likely come standard (at least in some markets) and all-wheel drive will be offered at an extra cost. We're guessing that four- and six-cylinder engines will be available, though full specifications haven't been published yet, and Maserati previously confirmed that a high-performance version worthy of the Trofeo emblem will join the range at some point.  More details about the Maserati Grecale will emerge in the coming months.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Maserati orders triple on strength of Quattroporte demand in China

Considering Maserati sold all of 6,300 cars globally in 2012, its goal of selling 50,000 by 2015 seemed like a bit of a stretch to say the least, but it turns the Fiat-owned automaker was on to something. Reuters is reporting that Maserati has already received about 17,000 orders for cars this year, with help from the new 2014 Quattroporte and strong demand in China.
The US continues to be the top market for Maserati sales, but the report quotes Harald Wester, brand chief executive, as saying that China is now the top market for Quattroporte. As big of an improvement as this is it bears mentioning that the Ghibli isn't even on sale yet and the Levante SUV, a redesigned GranTurismo and a new 911-fighting coupe are still waiting in the pipeline.