Fiat, Chrysler in no Hurry to Develop Hybrid Vehicles
While the vast majority of global manufacturers putting more and more emphasis on hybrid engines, plug-in hybrid, electric or fuel cells, the Fiat-Chrysler group does not intend to follow this trend.
This was confirmed by Bob Lee, head of engine development, in an interview he gave to the magazine Automotive News Europe.
The reason given by the Italian-American industrial group is directly related to costs incurred in the development of these technologies, whose profitability is far from the rendezvous.
More faithful to the diesel engine
To compensate for this absence, Fiat and Chrysler prefer to develop naturally aspirated engines of smaller displacement combined with a turbocharger.
Added to this is a generous offering of diesel-powered models in the lineup. As proof, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram trucks which just became available with diesel engines.
The exception that proves the rule
This decision won’t disrupt the availability of a Fiat 500e fully electric powertrain developed exclusively for the California market.