MILAN -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will launch three new SUV models for its Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands this year, as the automaker expands its presence in the growing segment.
Alfa Romeo will add the Tonale compact SUV positioned below its midsize Stelvio in its lineup; Maserati will draw on the Stelvio’s underpinnings for the midsize Grecale, giving the brand a lower-priced alternative to the Levante; and Fiat will build a convertible version of the small 500X, the brand’s only SUV.
The 500X Cabrio was announced to suppliers late last month by FCA’s Europe chief Pietro Gorlier, according to Italian news reports, and a company spokesman on Thursday confirmed the new model to Automotive News Europe
The convertible version of the Fiat 500X will compete with Europe’s only other convertible in the segment, the Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet, launched last year. Other recent efforts to build a convertible based on SUV or crossover models included the Range Rover Evoque and the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.
The Fiat 500X Cabrio is expected to carry just few modifications from the base four-door model to minimize costs. According to supplier sources, the body sides and doors will not change, with the roof and rear window replaced by a foldable soft top with a glass rear window, but with door frames remaining intact, similar to the convertible version of the 500 minicar.
The standard 500X in Italy starts at 21,000 euros.
In Germany, the VW T-Roc Cabriolet starts at 27,545 euros (almost 3,000 euros more than a standard T-Roc with the same equipment level) and is equipped with a fully folding canvas roof.
The 500X Cabrio will be assembled in FCA’s factory in Melfi, southern Italy, alongside the five-door version. The plant also builds the Jeep Renegade and Compass. According to the FIM union, 52,287 500Xs were produced in 2020, down 40 percent from 2019. Figures from JATO Dynamics show that 52,786 were sold in Europe through November, a decline of 37 percent from the same period in 2019. Sales in Italy, its main market, were down 25 percent to 31,831, according to industry association UNRAE.
According to FIM, Fiat will also launch a mild hybrid version of the 500X this year.
Tonale, Grecale production in 2021
The union also confirmed that production of the Alfa Romeo Tonale will start at the Pomigliano plant in southern Italy in the second half of this year. The Tonale is based on a modified version of the Jeep Compass platform and drivetrain. It was shown in concept form at the 2019 Geneva auto show.
Alfa is poised to add a third SUV in late 2022, when production of a small SUV based on merger partner PSA Group’s Common Modular Platform (CMP) will start in the Tychy plant in Poland. Italian news reports say it could be named Brennero, which, like the Stelvio and Tonale, is the name of an Italian mountain pass.
FIM said Maserati Grecale production will start in early November at the Cassino plant in central Italy. The SUV will be based on the Giorgio platform that underpins the Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV. Those two models are built at Cassino.
The metalworkers’ union also confirmed that production of the slow-selling Alfa Romeo Giulietta compact car ended at Cassino in December. News of the Giulietta's phase-out had leaked in April. Just over 9,500 units were sold through November of last year, JATO figures showed.
Production drops in Italy
FCA’s Italian plants assembled 717,636 vehicles last year, a 12 percent decline from 2019 and the lowest level since 2014, FIM said.
FCA passenger car production in Italy declined 12 percent to 460,610. Commercial van production at the Sevelsud factory, a joint venture between FCA and PSA, was also down 12 percent to 257,026.
Production was stopped on March 16 in all Italian plants as the Italian government introduced a hard lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Production restarted at different dates, from April 27 at the van factory to mid-June in Pomigliano. Production levels were down 35 percent in the first half, FIM added.
