Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Friday unveiled plans to offer electrified versions across its entire Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Jeep lineups at a presentation of the 2018-22 business plan, showing a significant shift for a company that is a latecomer to the technology.
“The challenge for leaders of this industry is to find a balance point between the use of technology that responds to consumers’ needs, in such a way to avoid wasting capital,” CEO Sergio Marchionne said at the presentation.
In the past, FCA management has said that automakers lose money producing electric vehicles, which are also expensive for consumers. But Marchionne and other FCA executives on Friday acknowledged that this technological change is crucial for the industry’s future. And Jeep and Maserati executives said a shift to electrification may not be too damaging to margins because of the strength of their brands.
FCA plans to invest 9 billion euros by 2022 in hybrid and electric technology and phase out diesels for Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Jeep.