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DETROIT – Stellantis said Friday that it plans to indefinitely idle a Jeep plant in Illinois, starting early next year, to cut costs as it invests in electric vehicles. The transatlantic automaker, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, said the plant will cease production as of Feb. 28. The more than 1,200 workers at the facility, which produces Jeep Cherokee SUVs, will be placed on indefinite layoffs, the company said. “Our industry has been adversely affected by a multitude of factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the global microchip shortage, but the most impactful challenge is the increasing cost related...

Even fully remote workers in the automobile industry are subject to a corporate vaccine mandate that threatens the livelihood of those who assert their right to medical freedom.Even fully remote workers in the automobile industry are subject to a corporate vaccine mandate that threatens the livelihood of those who assert their right to medical freedom. An FAQ sent out by the company threatens those who do not comply with the vaccine mandate, warning, “Individuals who do not report their status by December 4, 2021 will be considered unvaccinated.” The penalty for being unvaccinated? “Those who do not meet the vaccination...

Some 1,600 jobs are being cut at a Jeep Cherokee factory in northern Illinois as automakers continue being plagued by the global shortage of semiconductors. The U.S. arm of Stellantis, formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, said Friday it was cutting one of the two work shifts at its Belvidere Assembly Plant as of July 26. That could result in the layoffs of 1,641 workers, .... the factory’s situation “has been further exacerbated by the unprecedented global microchip shortage,” Tinson said. The Belvidere facility has been idled since late March, with Stellantis repeatedly delaying the reopening that is now not expected...

France introduces a new carbon emission tax plan that will make buyers of gas-guzzlers like Porsche and Ferrari to reconsider their purchasing decision. EU has set a target of reducing its carbon emissions from cars by 2030 and France, which already has the highest pollution tax, has decided to double it. France is drafting a law that will force buyers of big luxury gas-guzzling cars to reconsider their purchasing decision. Europe’s second-largest auto market is planning to double its levy of “malus”- or penalty tax based on the carbon emission of a car. It is set to go up to...

MILAN - Fiat Chrysler and unions are discussing plans for beefed-up health measures at Italian plants to pave the way for most profitable production to restart as soon as the government eases a national lockdown, unions said on Wednesday. An extension of a national lockdown due to expire on April 13 cannot be ruled out, but recent coronavirus data allowed growing confidence that the virus was on the retreat in Italy. Measures proposed by FCA’s unions include rearranging assembly layouts, staggering shifts, and marking floors to ensure a one-meter distance is kept between workers, FIM representative Raffaele Apetino said, adding...

The Dodge Grand Caravan’s journey is finally ending this spring. The minivan is scheduled to end production on May 22, the automaker has confirmed. The Caravan was introduced alongside the Plymouth Voyager in 1984 as a “garageable” van that helped kick off the minivan craze that continued through the 1990s, until family car buyers started making the shift to SUVs. The stretched Grand Caravan was added to the lineup in 1987 and eventually became the only version offered. The Caravan lived through five generations, with the current one dating back to 2008. U.S. sales topped 300,000 in 1996 and 1997,...

Fiat Chrysler is in talks with the Chinese company Foxconn to develop and manufacture battery-powered vehicles, the U.S.-Italian automaker said Friday. Fiat Chrysler is in the process of merging with France’s PSA Peugeot, which is 12% owned by Chinese company Dongfeng Motor Co. Both Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot have lagged in developing electric powertrains and also have been struggling to increase sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market. It was unclear what impact Fiat Chrysler’s proposed joint venture with Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co., Ltd., would have on the wider merger, which is expected to...

On a single day in December 2015, Gary Jones, who resigned last month as president of the United Automobile Workers, spent more than $13,000 of the union’s money at a cigar store in Arizona. His purchases included a dozen $268 boxes of Ashton Double Magnums and a dozen boxes of Ashton Monarchs at $274.50 each. “Hi Gary, Thank you & Happy New Year,” read a handwritten note from the store. The purchases, documented by a federal complaint filed against a union leader in September, were part of more than $60,000 in cigars and cigar paraphernalia that Mr. Jones and other...

MILAN/PARIS (Reuters) - The board of French carmaker PSA (PEUP.PA), the owner of Peugeot, approved a binding agreement for a $50 billion merger with rival Fiat Chrysler (FCHA.MI), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. A separate Fiat Chrysler (FCA) board meeting was under way to discuss finalizing the memorandum of understanding to create the world’s number four carmaker, the source added, in a deal that would reshape the global car industry. Both companies declined to comment.

California said on Monday it will halt all purchases of new vehicles for state government fleets from GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler and other automakers backing President Donald Trump in a battle to strip the state of authority to regulate tailpipe emissions. Between 2016 and 2018, California purchased $58.6 million in vehicles from General Motors Corp, $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles $10.6 million from Toyota Motor Corp and $9 million from Nissan Motor Co. Last month, GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler and members of the Global Automakers trade association backed the Trump administration's effort to bar California from setting tailpipe...

Key Points •The last global economic cycle ended with a housing bust; will the bust in auto sales end this cycle? •Auto sales have crashed, the unsold inventory and delinquent debt may worsen well into 2020. •This auto-led downturn may be less damaging to the global economy than the housing bust was 10 years ago, but automobile manufacturing still accounts for a sizable amount of production, debt, and jobs. In 2009, the world economy was starting to climb out of a housing-led downturn. Ten years later, a downturn in auto production following tumbling car sales is driving a bust in...

Union auto workers voted, by a large majority, to authorize strikes while the United Auto Workers (UAW) union negotiates contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler. UAW members voted about 96 percent to allow union workers to strike while UAW leaders negotiate contracts with GM, Ford, and Chrysler — a vote that merely authorizes strikes and does not indicate that strikes will be held. UAW President Gary Jones said in a statement:

Marie Davis wants better medical insurance coverage. Jimmie Pleasant has been out of work for six months. Both are among the thousands of people who are looking for jobs with Fiat Chrysler under a city program that gives Detroit’s residents first crack at the application process. It’s part of a $108 million land development deal between an automaker that’s building a massive new plant and a city where the unemployment rate is more than twice the national average. Detroit officials hope the deal with Fiat Chrysler will mean residents have a better shot at good-paying jobs with the automaker, although...

Fiat Chrysler said May 21 that construction will begin immediately on a new, $1.6-billion assembly plant for Jeep Grand Cherokees, a new Jeep SUV and hybrid cars on Detroit's east side. The automaker receives tax breaks and 215 acres of land adjacent to its Jefferson North Manufacturing plant from the city and state in the deal. The land Fiat Chrysler is getting is valued at $108 million and the tax incentives at a savings of $291 million. To put together the land parcels for the deal, the city of Detroit agreed to purchases and exchanges with prominent landowners such as...

The merged company would reshape the global industry: it would make some 8.7 million vehicles a year, leapfrogging General Motors and trailing only Volkswagen and Toyota.

Tesla sent out an invite to automakers who could use its important zero-emission fleet in Europe and according to an update on the European Commission’s website, Fiat Chrysler took them up on the offer. It also comes at a great time as Tesla is believed to be under a significant cash crunch following a lackluster first quarter in 2019. That said, Tesla shouldn’t expect it to last for too long because automakers don’t like to send money to their competitors.

Ford’s new Mustang GT Shelby 500 is a 700-horsepower monster Ford says is the quickest street-legal Mustang in history. The latest iteration of Ford’s Shelby GT variant of the iconic Mustang pony car inherits the name of racer and engineer Carroll Shelby, who worked with Ford to design the first GT500 in 1967 — a car that now is considered a legend among American muscle cars. The new version, which debuted at the Detroit auto show on Monday, goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in the “mid-3 second” range, Ford said. It borrows technology from Ford’s GT super...

Volkswagen and BMW increased their 2018 car sales in the United States while major American competitors General Motors (GM) and Ford both had declines in new vehicle sales, according to sales reports published on Thursday. Volkswagen sold over 350,000 cars in the US in 2018, a 4.2 percent increase over 2017. It was the company’s second year of sales increases after sales plummeted following the dieselgate scandal, where a US investigation uncovered massive fraud in its diesel emissions reporting. Volkswagen’s boost in sales figures were helped by popular SUVs Tiguan and Atlas. BMW saw an increase of 1.7 percent to...

A downturn in China's car market has wrong-footed some of the world's biggest automakers, saddling them with factories they no longer need and that are costly to retool, according to a report from the Dow Jones Newswires supplied to EFE on Tuesday. Ford Motor, Peugeot and Hyundai Motor especially mistimed recent expansions, opening new plants just as the seemingly unstoppable growth of China's auto market went into reverse.

Fiat Chrysler plans to open a new assembly factory in Detroit to build sport utility vehicles, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The move comes as all of Detroit's Big Three automakers abandon sedan lines in favor of more popular and profitable SUVs and cross-over vehicles. The industry is also under pressure from President Donald Trump to keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S.