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To make more trucks, Fiat Chrysler reconsiders Mexico

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Nick Carey -


Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s new CEO is tired of being No 3 in US pick-up truck sales. With a strategy of loading up its revamped Ram 1500 full-size trucks with new features — ranging from 12-inch touch screens on the dashboard to large battery packs and electric motors to help adjust speed and gears and conserve fuel — the automaker is banking on a sustained surge in demand.


So Chief Executive Mike Manley is now reconsidering a decision announced in January to stop building Ram heavy-duty pick-ups at a plant in Saltillo, Mexico. That plant, and another in Warren, Michigan, between them would produce other Ram models and free up manufacturing capacity to make even more new trucks to eat into sales of Ford Motor Co’s F-Series or General Motors Co’s Chevrolet Silverado, and its higher-end GMC Sierra.


“We need to get ourselves into second” place, Manley said exclusively in his first interview since taking over the No 7 global automaker after Sergio Marchionne died suddenly. “Frankly, I don’t care which of the two I take share from.”


When US President Donald Trump was threatening action that would have imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Mexican-made pick-up trucks earlier this year, Fiat Chrysler said Saltillo would be “repurposed to produce future commercial vehicles.”


In 2017, Marchionne had raised the possibility his company could move heavy-duty pick-up production out of Saltillo, saying US tax and trade policy would influence the decision.


Now, the United States, Mexico and Canada have a tentative trade agreement that imposes no ceiling on shipments of pick-ups to the United States from Mexico, provided they meet thresholds for the share of parts produced within the region.


“With a combination of Warren and Mexico building what we call the classic truck, we have enough production to increase output next year if it’s required,” Manley said.


“In my opinion it will be required. We are gaining share. Obviously I am looking for that to continue, but it’s an incredibly competitive segment,” he added.


The Ram and Jeep brands underpin the automaker’s North American business — which accounted for nearly 85 per cent of Fiat Chrysler’s second-quarter pre-tax profit — and offset the struggles of its legacy Fiat business in Europe and operations in China.


Ford’s F-Series trucks have led the segment for four decades. In 2017, Ford had a 35.6 per cent share of US retail truck sales, followed closely by GM at 34.2 per cent and FCA with 22.3 per cent.


Pick-up trucks are the single biggest contributor to the Detroit Big Three automakers’ profits, so there is plenty at stake as they fight for market share.


In the battle for pick-up customers, GM launched a new version of its Silverado truck designed with a focus on slashing weight and trimming production costs to compete with market leader Ford.


Fiat Chrysler, which reports third-quarter results on Tuesday, took a different tack with the new Ram. The automaker stuffed more features into the vehicle — including an optional 12-inch touch screen and partial electrification that saves fuel and helps with acceleration and cruise control — on a bet that customers would pay more in return.


So far, the gamble appears to be paying off. The new Ram 1500’s average sale price for the year to date through late October hit $46,856, — higher than the $42,389 average for the Ford F-150, according to industry data.


Hayden Elder, owner of Elder Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Athens, Texas, said three times in under a month he has had families trade in nearly-new large SUVs made by FCA’s rivals for a new Ram 1500.


“This new Ram is the biggest leap I’ve ever seen from one version to another,” Elder said. About 70 per cent of the 800 vehicles he sells annually are trucks.


Phil Jansen, Fiat Chrysler’s head of product development, said when his team began redesigning the Ram 1500, they decided a lighter, all-aluminium body — which Ford uses for its trucks — was too expensive. GM executives reached the same conclusion.


But Fiat Chrysler took a chance that GM did not, and added a large battery pack and electric motor that assist with shifting, plus deliver a smooth start-stop function that idles the engine when stopped in traffic, boosting fuel economy. — Reuters


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