Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV launches a compact sport-utility vehicle at the Geneva International Motor Show today. The responses to the vehicle are considered to be critical for the alliance of Fiat SpA and Chrysler and their new model – the Jeep Renegade, which is to be manufactured in Italy, in the production plant of Fiat located in Melfi, Italy, together with the 500X model.
The Renegade model will be the cheapest one of Chryslers Jeep and is targeting the younger customers in Europe and emerging markets, who have not been Jeep users before. It is expected to be officially launched in Europe during the fourth quarter of 2014 and will be presented in the US showrooms in early 2015. One of Jeeps spokesmen said that the Renegades pricing will be announced when the model is put into sales.
The making of the new entry-level vehicle is said to be the end of Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionnes search for an appropriate partner, which lasted more than ten years. Fiats acquisition of Chryslers remaining shares in January 2014 is considered as a factor that made both regional car-makers more competitive in order to face the rivalry of bigger car manufacturers such as General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG. The new Jeep Renegade will also face the competition of the Nissan Juke, Opels Mokka, Fords EcoSport, and other small SUV rivals. The Chief Executive Officer of Fiat is also said to become more focused on the U.S. market.
As reported by Bloomberg, Roberto Verganti, who is a management professor at Milan Polytechnic and the author of “Design-Driven Innovation”, which was published in 2009, said: “The Renegade and 500X are perfect examples of something Fiat and Chrysler couldn’t have done alone. They are exploiting Fiat expertise in small cars to timely launch a Jeep model in a segment that’s actually booming.”
One of the auto analysts working for LMC Automotive – Mr. Jeff Schuster, said for the Wall Street Journal: “The challenge in many parts of the world, Europe in particular, is you need a smaller vehicle to navigate the roads, and because fuel prices are so high. In order to grow the Jeep brand internationally, this is a key vehicle for them.”
Fiat SpA rose by 2.56% in Milan by 8:59 GMT to 7.60 euros, raising the companys market capitalization to 9.52 million euros.
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