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Stellantis pauses RAM classic 1500 production while cutting plant maintenance in Italy

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AlexB

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Stellantis NV, the world’s fourth-largest automaker, said production of its Ram Classic pickup trucks in Warren, Michigan, and Saltillo, Mexico, will be affected for “a number of weeks” because of the global chip shortages.


The company, formed from this year’s merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and PSA Group, said it will complete the vehicles when the component that requires the chip becomes available, according to an emailed statement from the company Saturday.


“We continue working closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” it said.

The global shortage in semiconductors is spreading to industries from automakers to consumer electronics producers. Even Samsung Electronics Co., one of the world’s largest makers of chips and consumer electronics, warned this week that the crunch could pose a problem to its business next quarter.
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Davide Provenzano of the FIM union said Stellantis was taking action at its Mirafiori plant in Turin, where it assembles the electric 500 car, by reducing the amount of toilets available to workers, cutting cleaning shifts, temperatures and reorganising transport facilities.


“This is happening during COVID-19, when you should be increasing toilets available and cleaning services, rather than cutting them,” Provenzano said.

Stellantis will present its business plan in late 2021 or early 2022.

Edi Lazzi of the left-leaning FIOM union said he believed the cost-saving actions in Italy were the personal initiatives of local management rather than a broad strategy launched by the group.

“The measures are a drop in the ocean,” he said.

Cost-containing measures were reported at other Italian sites.


Nicola Manzi of the UILM union said that Stellantis has cut cleaning services by some 35% in the Atessa plant in central Italy, Europe’s largest van producing facility. However, he said that excluded disinfection services for the novel coronavirus and the number of toilets was also unchanged.

“We’re currently running almost at full capacity, it would be hard to cut the number toilets here,” he said.
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www.reuters.com

Stellantis' war on costs in Italy begins with the toilets, unions say

Carmaker Stellantis' campaign to reduce costs has led to cuts in cleaning services and the number of toilets available in Italian factories, where production is under scrutiny for costing more than elsewhere, unions said on Tuesday.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
Giulia and Stelvio PHEV projects have been killed. All blessed by Carlos.

We will still cry for Sergio.
 
Mopar392 said:
Maybe temporary only to align priorities
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No... They(PSA) don't do it like that. And you should listen last Conference Call by Tavares. According to him it's all about BEV. PHEV is past tense.

Ah. Sales statistics in Europe so far for 2021 says that 1 out of 3 new BMW 3 Series are PHEV. But Carlos thinks that PHEV brings too much production complications and with that additional costs.
In the same factory and on the same platform they will make Maserati Grecale which will have BEV version.

But I've heard something else. That CEO of Mopar and back then FCA EMEA COO Pietro Gorlier was the one who pushed Alfa Tonale on FCA Small(B) Wide platform. He rejected idea of Alfa on French EMP2 platform. For reward he wasn't chosen in around top 45 Stellantis managers. And not only that.he is not Mopar CEO anymore. Actually he is bit Mopar has been renamed to Components. Another way of showing disrespect to ex FCA.
 
The rear drive PHEV setup that was intended for the Alfa Romeo products is the same ZF system used in the Jeep Wrangler 4Xe. The ZF 8-speed is used by various global automobile manufacturers and this unit offers the plugin in hybrid option. It was rumored that some future Dodge and Ram products also were to offer the ZF hybrid transmission. What does this situation say say about the future of rear drive Dodges?
 
@patfromigh
I believe that some people in this site know more about Dodge future.

But in general if we need to read between the lines I would say that FCA will fulfill some contract obligations to ZF while some may be terminated. This is all JMO based on some indications.

The future is BEV according to Carlos Tavares. Maybe less in the US but certainly that's the way in the EU.
Of course I need to mention politics. Politicians come and go. Maybe some other will change it and we will not have Green Deals. As we know some form of Green Deal is put into action on both sides of the pond.

You know my opinion and from what I remember we share it. PHEV must be there.

ZF inside of Wrangler? I doubt that the identical version was planned for Alfa. AFAIK they were in wait for the 4th generation ZF 8HP.

Still don't know what this means for the 4th generation ZF 8HP in a MHEV form. AFAIK FCA had big plans for it.
 
Bili said:
Giulia and Stelvio PHEV projects have been killed. All blessed by Carlos.

We will still cry for Sergio.
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Hu, I thought they were killed long ago? Around when GTV and 8C were killed. Only MHEV expected for Giulia and Stelvio in the current generation. Note the lack of PHEV symbols:

1d3a3007-alfa-romeo-future-product-p.jpg

PHEVs might face a hard future. Currently the sales in Europe come from tax benefits, but only few are ever driven in electric mode. Politics will adjust.
 
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@pumadog

What to say? Their plans are constantly changing. But yes, the latest plans for Giulia and Stelvio were for electrification of the entire line up with only likely exception in 2.2 diesel but even it can be electrified. PHEV plus MHEV it was. Even Quadrifoglio was planned as a MHEV with the new generation ZF 8HP80 as a centerpiece. It was planned for sharing with new Maserati GranTurismo. I don't know if it's still on.

PHEV plans for 8C as MC20 are cancelled. ICE + BEV it is. Who knows if they may revive it for 8C.

I know that they can offer Stelvio BEV if they want.

Reason behind this cancellation is production simplification. PHEV versions would need some unique mouldings.
 
BEV would require a dedicated platform, while PHEV can share a platform with ICE models. No??
 
Mopar392 said:
BEV would require a dedicated platform, while PHEV can share a platform with ICE models. No??
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No. Always Giorgio in this case. As it now stands Stellantis doesn't have plans for a dedicated BEV platform although they have some JVs in place for such.
 
Mopar392 said:
BEV would require a dedicated platform, while PHEV can share a platform with ICE models. No??
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The platform can be the same for all powertrains. The Fiat 500e battery electric compliance car used the same platform as the IC powered cars from Toluca. The assembly process, however, wasn't pretty. For a mass production product, that assembly process wasn't cheap either. Vehicles were pulled off the line and modified, but that compliance model was meant to be sold in small limited numbers. The new Fiat 500 electric is in a new platform and has a much more efficient process for battery electric assembly. FCA pioneered the process of rotating the entire vehicle assembly sideways for battery and electrical components. The machinery needed to do this is expensive. This is why other manufacturers are going in the direction of the skateboard platform for battery electric.

The production line for the Jeep Wrangler also received the modifications like the line for the new electric Fiat has. This allows for efficient assembly along the entire line including battery installation. The same platform is used for either hybrid or non-hybrid Wranglers. Note that the electric motor in the ZF hybrid transmission is where the torque converter goes.

Bili said:
ZF inside of Wrangler? I doubt that the identical version was planned for Alfa. AFAIK they were in wait for the 4th generation ZF 8HP.
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When the Jeep Wrangler 4Xe was introduced to the press last year there was some videos posted online by FCA along with the press material. The 8-speed ZF hybrid transmission in the Wrangler is the older one that has been in production awhile. ZF is upgrading their manufacturing facility in the USA for the next generation of transmissions as well as the new truck transmission. The decision was made by FCA to use the older unit instead of waiting.
 
Quite frankly, I don't see a big issue with killing PHEVs for Giulia and Stelvio. The Giulia came out in 2016. It would only get a PHEV 5 or 6 years after??
By that time it's already an old model that needs to replaced. The Stelvio should also be replace one year afterwards.
I do believe that the Giulia and Stelvio sales were hindered both in Europe and the US for the lack of hybrid options, but now it's too little too late. This should've been planned from the start and immediately available at launch.
Heck, where the hell are the MHEVs that we've been talking about for years? Even the Ghibli got a freaking MHEV.

If they want to cut costs I prefer that they focus resources on launching a new generation of both of these products. I'm curious to see what improvements the Grecale will have over the Stelvio, because it might show what to expect.

Focus on launching all-new generations of the Giulia and Stelvio. Cut costs in the current generation to phase it out by 2023. Bring BEVs in a new generation to compete on a fiscal basis and against the german brands which are already shifting towards this. It will also be an excellent opportunity to have an excellent electric midsize sedan that doesn't have a pig snout like the new BMW, and a normal interior as opposed to whatever the hell Tesla does.
 
Bili said:
No. Always Giorgio in this case. As it now stands Stellantis doesn't have plans for a dedicated BEV platform although they have some JVs in place for such.
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If there's a necessity of quickly launching an EV to the market they can quickly talk with Magna. Sony has been showcasing their EV, which is built on top of a Magna platform.
 
Why would they kill Giulia and Stelvio so soon? It's still the best platform in the segment with top notch torsional rigidity, low weighs, top of the class passive safety... It lacks in ADAS and infotainment departments and also headlights tech which is something what can be and will be solved with MCA.

AFAIK supplier contracts for Giulia and Stelvio were signed for duration of 10 years.
 
FCA had planned for the Alfa Romeo brand to be sold globally, as is the Jeep brand. In the Americas, plugin hybrids are critical. Mexico City is leading a big environmental push for the rest of the country, but there won't be a charging network down the Baja highway anytime soon. I'm sure we will see low emission zones throughout major cities in the Western Hemisphere, but there is a lot of land between those major cities.
 
Here are some very serious ZF videos. I believe it is from a press day presentation. Does anybody from the PSA side of things ever look at any of this stuff?
 
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