Jeep, Fiat small crossovers approved for production at Polish plant

TURIN/MILAN - Stellantis has approved the Jeep and Fiat versions of three new SUV/crossovers that will be built in the former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plant in Tychy, Poland.

Production of a small Jeep SUV will start in November 2022, followed by a Fiat small crossover in April 2023, Stellantis documents seen by Automotive News Europe show.

A third model for Alfa Romeo has not yet been approved. It's not clear why the vehicle is still awaiting approval.

All three vehicles will be underpinned by the former PSA Group's Compact Modular Platform (CMP) that is already used for the Peugeot 208 and 2008, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa and Mokka, Citroen C4, and the DS3 Crossback.

The new Jeep, Fiat and Alfa models will mainly use PSA Group engines and transmissions.

Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin said in December on Twitter that FCA (now Stellantis following its merger with PSA) will invest 755 million zloty ($204 million) to build the cars in Tychy "with prospects for many times more."

According to Request for Quotations given by Stellantis to suppliers and seen by ANE, overall production volume is planned to reach 300,000 units a year at full capacity.

Production of the small Fiat crossover will account for 130,000 units year. The car will be a five-door model derived from the Centoventi concept shown at the 2019 Geneva auto show.

The Jeep version will be the U.S. brand's smallest model, positioned below the Renegade. It will account for 110,000 units a year. Alfa's small SUV, called the Brennero, will account for 60,000 units.

FCA could build up to 400,000 units a year of CMP-based models in Tychy, Italian press reports said in 2020.

The Tychy plant currently builds the 14-year-old Fiat 500 minicar and the 10-year-old Lancia Ypsilon small car. It is not clear whether production of these two models will continue alongside the three CMP-based models.

The start of production (SOP) schedule for the three models is listed below. Sales normally begin three to four months after SOP.

• The Jeep, which is code-named project 516, is due to go into production in November 2022, initially with a gasoline engine. A full-electric version will follow in February 2023 and a mild-hybrid version in January 2024. Batteries for the full-electric version will initially be supplied by Chinese supplier CATL, switching in July 2023 to another Chinese competitor, automaker BYD.
• Production of a small Fiat crossover, code-named project 364, is due to start in April 2023, with a BYD-equipped full-electric version following in May 2023 and mild hybrid in February 2024.

Previously, the Jeep was expected to start production in July 2022, followed by the Alfa Romeo in January 2023 and the Fiat in July 2023.

The front-wheel-drive mild-hybrid versions of the three vehicles will have an electric motor located between the engine and the transmission.

The Alfa Romeo version that is awaiting approval is due to start production with the full-electric version in October 2023, followed by a front-wheel-drive gasoline mild hybrid in March 2024 and an all-wheel drive in July 2024. Alfa's small crossover is codenamed project 966.

If approved, the Alfa crossover's all-wheel-drive system, which has an electric motor on each axle, is expected to be added to the small Jeep.

The small SUV and crossover segment is the second most popular in Europe. The segment's sales fell 18 percent to 1.73 million last year, according to JATO Dynamics market researcher. The segment narrowly beat out compact cars for second place after the small-car sector, Europe's top-selling segment.

The Renault Captur was the most popular small SUV/crossover with 177,556 units sold, followed by the Volkswagen T-Roc at No. 2 with 158,776 sales and the Peugeot 2008 at No. 3 with a volume of 156,150.