Fiat Chrysler FCA- History and Overview
Fiat Chrysler FCA holds excellent standards being an Italian American corporation. They are known to produce quality vehicles that include domestic vehicles, commercial vehicles, production systems, and auto parts. Milan’s Borsa Italiana and New York’s stock exchange listed Fiat SPA and Chrysler Group as one in 104 after their merger. Exor holding company of Italy came up to be the largest shareholder of FCA. It owned 29.19% of the Fiat Chrysler automobile company.
History of Fiat Chrysler Automobile:
The Fiat and Chrysler FCA merger had been so popular until it was called defunct in 2019. But look at how hard they worked to outdo the five-years business plan they crafted at the time of the merger. They released many outstanding vehicles that are still in use.
FCA New Vehicles:
Let’s have a bird’s eye view of the vehicles that Fiat Chrysler FCA produced after the Fiat and Chrysler merger.
2014 and 2015 Additions
2014 and 2015 determined the functionality of Fiat and Chrysler. Alfa Romeo, which works under FCA, released its Spider 4C in 2014 and Giulia for the coming year. 2016 added an SUV to this lineup. The Giulia and SUV sustained from these years, while the 4C and Spider 4C were discontinued in 2019.
The company announced the complete redesign of the sustained vehicles scheduled for 2021. Chrysler released a refreshed version of 300/300C in 2014. The same brand also launched the successor to 2014 Town & Country, the Pacifica. 2014 also marked the end of the Dodge Avenger production by FCA.
Following the 2014 announcements, another round including Challenger and Charger from SRT company joined the gang in 2015.
Dodge Demon
However, the replacement came up soon as MOPAR announced the Dodge Demon in the first half of 2017. It had an engine that was an amalgam of a 2.7-L supercharger and a 6.2-L V8 HEMI engine that made this car the quickest and most powerful release of that time. It produced whopping 770 lb-ft torque and 840 hp energy. The torque was so high that the front axle lifted off the ground during the launch. It had many additional features, including a launch control system, trans brake, an HVAC system to produce additional horsepower, and 5-point harness occupant restraints. An automobile repair book came with each of these vehicles to help the owner in case some problem arises.
Fiat Egea and 500X
Fiat Egea and Fiat 500X were the new releases by Fiat in 2015. The company released Maserati Levante SUV in 2016. A new GranTurismo added to the charisma with rear-wheel-drive and 580 hp producing V8 engine. Maserati Alfieri was added to the lineup in 2020 near the discontinuation of the FCA under this name.
Jeep Renegade
The FCA merger’s first release was the Jeep Renegade in 2014, which reappeared in Malaysia after years. They took a significant step by taking celebrities on board as brand ambassadors. Some were Tina Fey, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, and Fan Bingbing. They did it to promote their redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was a huge hit.
Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot came out in their last year version in 2016 since FCA gave Jeep Grand Cherokee a significant refresh for 2016, marking its 75th anniversary. 2018 was the lucky year for Jeep Wrangler as it got a refresh by FCA. During all this time, they kept producing low-duty trucks, RAM vehicles, and other passenger-grade cars. Before the discontinuation of FCA under the Fiat Chrysler name in 2021, the company released a Luxury Jeep Wagoneer that got its hints from the Range Rover and Mercedes Benz. This Jeep gave a tough time to Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, and GMC Yukon.
The Downfalls:
2017 was challenging for Fiat Chrysler since US Justice Department charged it for failing to present software that didn’t track emission records. It ended up adding more and more pollution to the environment. The Justice Department sued them for using a defective device to minimize the emissions. The device was installed in more than 100,000 devices between the years 2014 to 2016.
The company parted ways from Ferrari SPA in 2016 and made Ferrari a separate entity from Exor.
In 2017, Fiat Chrysler FCA became the stakeholder in creating Italy’s largest media group, GEDI. FCA planned to sell all its stakes to its shareholders. Exor immediately accepted the offer and sold the shares to GEDI right after receiving them.
In 2018, the company’s Chief Executive, Marchionne took medical leave for his shoulder surgery. His health deteriorated suddenly; he went into a coma and died in the same year.
After Marchionne:
Fiat Chrysler FCA paid 800$ million to bring down the diesel emission lawsuits. The COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, and the factories started opening on a rotating basis, and the company started discouraging people from using their products.
Discontinuation of Fiat Chrysler FCA:
Fiat Chrysler FCA discontinuation is not the Fiat and Chrysler parting ways. It is about merging the whole FCA with a French company, PSA group, under the name Stellantis.