What You Need to Know About Chrysler's Five-Year Plan

Chrysler’s recently-formed SRT performance brand was supposed to serve as a standalone company for Chrysler. It’s first model, the SRT Viper, is a colossal sales flop and there apparently isn’t any will left to keep the brand alive as a separate entity. As part of a broader restructuring of the brands under FCA’s umbrella, the Viper will once again be branded as a Dodge vehicle.

That wasn’t the only big performance vehicle news coming by way of Dodge yesterday. The company also revealed plans for the near future that will include several more SRT-tuned vehicles. One of the big announcements yesterday was that the Charger and Challenger will both be offered wit ha supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8. Output for the powertrain hasn’t been disclosed yet, but the rumor is that it could turn out as much as 700 hp. Earlier this year, SRT boss Ralph Gilles said the company had started something of an internal arms race for horsepower with its new V8 that could potentially overpower the Viper’s massive V10.

The long-rumored Dart SRT – spiritual successor to the SRT4 – will arrive in 2016 with a turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain spinning all four wheels. That model will accompany a refreshed version of the 2016 Dart. In SRT form, the force-fed inline four-cylinder engine will allow Dodge to take on Subaru’s new WRX directly.

It won’t be the only all-wheel drive, turbocharged SRT model Dodge introduces in 2016 either. The company is also planning a D-segment turbocharged crossover that could be a new version of the Journey or a replacement to that model. In the past, Dodge sold an SRT-tuned version of the Caliber with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Of course, that wouldn’t be comparable in terms of size or power distribution to all four wheels, but the precedent is there for the brand to give unlikely models a boost.

If you were watching AutoGuide.com’s coverage of the Geneva Motor Show in March, you’ve probably already spent time looking at the Alfieri concept Maserati revealed there. The exotic Italian luxury brand came up in FCA’s announcement marathon. The company said it does, in fact, plan to build the Alfieri. Specific dates weren’t announced, but the chart shown during the presentation suggested that it would be sometime in 2016. Following that, there will also be a convertible model in 2017 and then a replacement to the GranTurismo in 2018. By that time, Maserati plans to expand its product portfolio to six models including the Ghibli mid-size sedan and Levante SUV.

In Geneva and more recently New York, Jeep showcased its new small crossover: the Renegade. Unlike the brand’s traditional products, the Renegade (pictured) is a tiny soft-roader meant to appeal as much with European preferences as the voracious U.S. appetite for utility vehicles.

The company promises that its new cute ute will be able to handle off-road duty – at least when properly optioned – but it’s hard to shake the notion that Jeep hasn’t done much in the larger CUV segment in a while. That won’t be true very much longer because the company is planning a return for the Grand Wagoneer nameplate as a seven-seat utility.

The Grand Cherokee is currently the largest vehicle in Jeep’s portfolio, but it lacks a third row of seats. The Grand Wagoneer will serve to fill that gap, but not until 2018, one year after the new Grand Cherokee arrives.

Until yesterday, it Chrysler’s minivan plan wasn’t clear. The re-badged version of the Grand Caravan sold as the Volkswagen Routan had long-since stopped being built at Chrysler’s plant in Windsor, Canada, but both the Dodge and Chrysler-branded versions are still soldiering on. Previous reports suggested that one of the two models was all but out of life and yesterday, the company confirmed that Dodge will stop selling its iteration of the long-loved family hauler.

In the coming generation, Chrysler will serve as the sole Pentastar minivan proprietor. The upcoming generation is expected with a nine-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. But more importantly, the company also plans to offer a plug-in hybrid version that will supposedly offer up to 75 MPG.

Chrysler only currently has three models in its lineup: the 200 mid-size sedan, 300 full-sizer and the Town & Country minivan. But that will change for 2016 because the company is also planning to launch a smaller 100 sedan in the compact segment for the 2016 model year. Farther down the road, there will also be a mid-size crossover under the Chrysler brand in 2018 along with a new version of the 300 sedan.

Some Chrysler dealers that decided to adopt a Fiat franchise are feeling cross. The brand’s North American revival took time to gain ground and is struggling on a thin product line. Currently, customers can pick between variants on the 500 sub-compact that include a retractable rag top version or the more engaging Abarth model. There’s also the larger 500L, but that’s really about it except for the 500e that Fiat would really rather not have to build in the first place. Bah, humbug.

Unlike some of FCA’s other brands, Fiat isn’t about to blow up with a massive model expansion. It will gain two more models: the 500X crossover and a yet-unnamed “specialty” car. The crossover will share its bones with Jeep’s new Renegade small SUV and is expected to debut later this year. What’s more interesting about Fiat’s announcement is the mystery model, of which little is currently known.

Mazda and Alfa Romeo are working together to build a car that, for the Japanese brand, will serve as a replacement to the NC-generation MX-5 sports car. Previously, it was thought that Alfa Romeo would badge and sell the fruit of that labor on behalf of the overall company. But it already has the 4C sports car and yesterday, the company made it clear that Alfa Romeo’s next big hurdle is to compete with mainstream German luxury brands like BMW.

A low-cost sports car could serve to bolster Fiat’s reputation and image in North America and the veiled announcement about a “specialty” model opened speculation that the company’s collaboration with Mazda might yield a new Fiat nameplate instead.

The future could finally be bright for Alfa Romeo. FCA boss Sergio Marchionne has been trying for years to breathe new life into the Italian brand and the latest push will take an estimated five billion Euros. That push will see the company selling not only its new 4C sports car, but several more models.

And the company seems to be taking its chance seriously. Right now, a crack squad of roughly 200 engineers are working together, led by two unnamed senior level staff members from Ferrari. That team is expected to triple in the near future. The goal: to come up with cars that can directly compete with German luxury. A competitor to the BMW 3 Series will show up sometime in 2015. The company says it will have a “best-in-class” rear-wheel drive platform.