Fiat products could reach U.S. showrooms within 18 months

One of the first Fiat products to hit the U.S. is likely to be the 500 minicar, which is being considered for local production The big news of the past week is that Chrysler and Fiat have finally managed to forge an alliance, and now Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings are being pushed through to quickly eliminate any obstacles that the merger may face. Bringing the struggling Detroit 3 carmaker back into the market as quickly as possible will be key to helping in its recovery, and according to outgoing co-president Tom LaSorda a range of new Chrysler vehicles based on Fiat models could be hitting the U.S. market in just 18 months.

While the timeline may seem a little optimistic, LaSorda explained to Edmunds that "18 months is practical" considering that a "lot of pre-work in terms of homologations and emissions" had already been undertaken. Despite this, many analysts are predicting a three-year timetable for a Chrysler-Fiat product to hit the U.S. market - a timetable that LaSorda has acknowledged but still dismissed as being too slow considering the companys current position.

Chrysler's new brand portfolio, which will be largely based on Fiat products, means that the company will be eliminating certain unprofitable models, as well as models that overlap into other segments and cause internal brand cannibalization. Additionally, Chrysler will sell all of its brands, which now consist of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, "under one dealership umbrella".

While an exact rundown of which Fiat vehicles are coming to the U.S. was not forthcoming, LaSorda said that the highly acclaimed Fiat 500 was being considered for local production. Even Chrysler's head designer Ralph Gilles has been keen to bring the Fiat 500 to the U.S. since the beginning of this year. "It is such a fun package. I think Americans, given the chance, will fall in love with this thing," he said.

At the moment, Fiat is considering three different Chrysler plants that could be retooled for production of Fiat vehicles - for a full rundown of the plants and the future vehicles that may come out of them see our previous story by clicking here.   

Popularity: unranked [?]