Fiat May Export Future Jeeps From Europe to the U.S.

Just the Facts:

• Jeep could import significant numbers of vehicles from Fiat plants in Europe if the U.S. market continues to recover, says Fiat-Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne.
• Marchionne says Chrysler has slashed its U.S. capacity by one-third.
• Wrangler will continue to be built in Toledo and Grand Cherokee in Detroit, he said.

LONDON — Chrysler's Jeep brand could import significant numbers of vehicles from Fiat plants in Europe if the U.S. market continues to recover, says Fiat-Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne.

Speaking last week at the European launch of the Fiat Panda, Marchionne suggested that "if the market comes back to 14-15 million, Chrysler will need a lot of building capacity in the U.S. We're looking for other sources." The reason? Marchionne reckons that "people have under-estimated the impact" of Chrysler's recent retrenchments.

"Sufficient (production) capacity has been taken out in the U.S. that only two-thirds of the capacity is left," Marchionne said. "We can offer European capacity to Chrysler as long as it is not economically disadvantaged by this. C-, D- and B-segment models are indifferent to U.S. or European supply."

In his view, that's not true of Jeep's cornerstone models.

"Jeep and Alfa Romeo are our only international brands, apart from Ferrari and Maserati, and Jeep needs to continue to present itself as American," said Marchionne. "It's book-ended by the Wrangler and the Grand Cherokee. No Wranglers will ever come from anywhere other than Toledo, and Grand Cherokees will only come from (the) Jefferson (plant in Detroit)."

Marchionne said Jeep's C/D models — Compass, Liberty, Patriot — and the future B-segment model could be assembled at Fiat plants, such as the sprawling Mirafiore complex in Turin, then shipped to the U.S.

He added that "Jeep is the only brand I've never had to explain, either to Vladimir Putin or to people in Asia. We will work on this enthusiasm."

Inside Line says: Fiat-Chrysler plans to further exploit Jeep's wide reputation to turn it into a major global vehicle producer.