July 31, 2017—During a conference call detailing second quarter financial results, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne indicated his company will start embracing electrified vehicles as battery costs fall and emission standards become more stringent.
This is notable because, historically, as Green Car Reports notes, Chrysler has been very hesitant in its EV/hybrid development. But by 2019, the FCA Group will launch its electrification plan, and by 2022 at least half of its range would be electrified.
During the board call, Marchionne said:
"There's nothing that will prevent an OEM from engaging in the type of development work that Tesla has done so far. We have been—as you well know, we have been reluctant to embrace that avenue until we saw a clear—a path forward. I think we're now in a position to acknowledge at least one of our brands and in particular Maserati will, when it completes the development of its next two models effectively switch all of its portfolio to electrification. And as these products come up for renewal post 2019, it will start launching vehicles, which are all electric and which will embody, I think, what we consider to be state-of-the-art technology."
In fact, similar to what Volvo recently pledged, Maserati indicated it will only product electric vehicles after 2019, according to Tire and Parts. Marchionne said that when Maserati completes the development of its two forthcoming models, all of the Maserati vehicles would be electric.
