Fiat Chrysler to step up electric car production

BALOCCO, ITALY — In his last big presentation as CEO of Fiat Chrysler before retiring, Sergio Marchionne announced a big investment push to make more electrified cars, while acknowledging that traditional engines will continue to dominate production for some time.

Unveiling the company’s plans through 2022, Marchionne said Fiat Chrysler will invest 9 billion euros ($10.5 billion) as it tries to catch up in the market for gas-electric hybrids and fully electric vehicles, without forsaking the internal combustion engine market.

“Reducing our dependence on oil is one of the single greatest challenges that our society faces,” Marchionne told financial analysts as he presented the business plan that will be a final legacy for the company he created through the merger of Fiat and failing Chrysler.

“At FCA, we believe there is no single solution, no magic formula, to solve this problem. We believe to achieve a quantum leap, the entire system — political, economic and industrial — needs to work together with the right measure of realism based on finding the appropriate balance between consumption levels, cost and efficiency.”

“At the same time, conventional internal combustion engines will continue to be in the vast majority of our productions.”

The day- l ong pre s e nt at i on focused on plans for the brands that drive revenues: Jeep SUVs, Ram trucks and premium brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo. CFO Richard Palmer said by 2022 those brands with Fiat Professional would represent 80 percent of revenues, compared with 65 percent today. Palmer said Fiat expected to recover 65 percent of electrification costs through higher prices, while 15 percent of capital expenditures would be invested in conventional engine technology.