March 2021

MARCH 2021 AFTERMARKET 19 www.aftermarketonline.net were already familiar with the FCA documents for the Fiat 500 both in Europe and North America, so imagine our surprise when the documents were actually not written in the Ford of Europe style. Instead, they were pure Fiat. Further, the Ford of Europe system charges for access to welded panel documents, or charges for access to everything else. It seems the information had been uploaded to just one location. Ford, stung by the commercial failure of the FCA-built Ka, came close to cancelling the replacement but instead upgraded the current generation Figo, to become the Ka+. Indeed, in Europe at least, that too has bombed but Ford made more margin on each vehicle they have managed to sell. Merger, merger This ‘automotive soup’ is going to get way more complex. Consider Stellantis. Nope, it’s not a Chery, nor an Iveco heavy truck. This is the name of the new superpower. Stellantis will put together the assets of FCA and PSA, mimicking the cashless take- over of Daimler-Chrysler by Fiat. Now consider the culture, brand by brand under this umbrella. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: Abarth: Exposed by the 124 built by Mazda (it is the MX-5 ND), and with an ageing 500 derivative, this division’s future is unclear. Alfa Romeo: The division most wanted by other vehicle manufacturers. It gave Magna Steyr ‘18 months to create’ Giulietta, which should be axed soon, leaving Giulia and Stelvio to carry on. Forward investment is far from clear, which is pretty well the same situation as the past two decades. Chrysler: FCA’s sleeping giant. Where do we begin? Let’s start with lack of new product. Pacifica is the newest vehicle, and the rest are so old they still have links to Daimler Chrysler (ie, very old Mercedes-Benz engineering). This is a division is immensely clever, but is in deep, deep distress. Dodge: FCA’s missed opportunity. Endless product revisions, to the point that some products have survived to enjoy a renaissance – Dodge Durago, for example. The name is pure gold, the image endures – now it’s time to invest. Fiat: A problem division for FCA, because the Italian manufacturing network is woefully inefficient and the quality is at times odd. Apart from the cut down Punto with a new hat (the 500), the big successes are the 500X / Jeep Renegade built on Alfa Romeo Giulietta’s platform. Oh, and the PSA joint venture for vans. Jeep: FCA’s biggest potential, and a deeply conflicted division. It fields vehicles engineered by Daimler- Chrysler, Chrysler and Fiat. The core is Wrangler, which represents the aspiration of off-roading, but backs that up with a suite of vehicles which are softer. This division needs investment to replace Grand Cherokee and Cherokee, and it needs to replace Renegade with something closer to mainstream Jeep values. Lancia: The great FCA money pit, revived more than any hospital emergency patient, and frankly dead from the neck up. A great brand, but beyond revival. RAM: The cash-cow for FCA in North America. This is one of the high points for the company, but usually bravely trails the bigger GM and Ford in the full-size pickup market. The rest of world briefly had a version of the Mitsubishi Triton/L200, which ended when Mitsubishi married Renault- Nissan. So, the challenge is: Can RAM access the main global pickup market as well as continue to be successful in North America? Not without investment. RAM Professional / Fiat Professional: The quiet profit centre for FCA, selling commercial vehicles without fuss, most of which are built in partnership with PSA. Indeed, more product activity has taken place here than in the passenger car divisions, reflecting need for start-ups to have a vehicle that serves as a business tool as well as personal transportation. Peugeot SA: Citroen: PSA’s sub- brand, trying to be both cheap and innovative. This automotive capital has been frankly wasted for nearly a decade, and needs to get out of the shadow of other less fruitful projects such as. DS: The PSA money pit, which simply has failed to translate to commercial success. After all, basing the entire experience on a vehicle created in the 1950s, even though it was amazing, is a short road to oblivion. Oddly the closest vehicle built by PSA to the original ID/DS was the Citroen C6, which has become a cult classic even though original sales were ‘ow you say, merde. Peugeot: PSA’s upper house, where only in France they imaging the brand is in contention with BMW and Audi. Great products in the small to medium sector, but even sharing engineering with the Opel/Holden Commodore to produce the 508 produced the deafening sound of ‘not again!’ This division has little traction outside of Europe, having thrown away domination in Africa, left North America and more. The products are far better than ever before, but it’s going to take serious cash to re- establish those lost markets. Oh – and Peugeot need to stop slapping badges on a China-made one tonne pickup. It’s not a great look. Vauxhall/Opel: The big problem. Co-engineering of various models was underway before General Motors decided to sell out, so Corsa F is a 208, Crossland is based on 2008, Grandland-X is based on 3008 and the Combo van is a Partner/Berlingo. The issue? Legacy. In very recent times Vauxhall/Opel sold vehicles sourced from GM Daewoo, FCA, Holden and GM North America. The aftermarket support in Europe has been emotional, with access to current Vauxhall/Opel repair information going off line for 3 months and is now working sporadically. Just remember When the EU Commission finally blessed this deal formally, and the great execs swan around proclaiming they have just put together the fourth-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world, remember that FCA is broke and PSA have lots of work to do. The question is, can the group back fill the long overdue replacement vehicles before the cash reserves run out? Beyond that, we have trans. Yes, transition. This is the migration of North America, China and European operations to the ‘Peugeot’ house style which might take decades. Further, most of these divisions have a colourful history primarily in Europe, and remain unknown or unloved in the rest of the world. Conversely the North America products are loved, but have relatively poor international sales. The end result of this transition will be good, because the present Peugeot systems are great. Until then, we shall see what amounts to chaos. Auto Industry Consulting Ltd is the publisher of Ezi-Methods ezimethods.com