Chrysler and Fiat plan 7 new vehicles for U.S.

Product development teams at both Chrysler and Fiat are working together to bring as many as seven new vehicles to the U.S. market. Four would wear Chrysler badges and three would be either Fiats or Alfa Romeos.

Among the new vehicles would be the tiny Fiat 500 minicar, which is sized between a BMW Mini Cooper and a Smart. The 500 has been extremely successful in Europe. Under the proposed arrangement, the 500 would be built at Chrysler’s Toluca, Mexico plant, replacing production of the PT Cruiser, slated for cancellation this summer. CSM Worldwide says the 500 could be in production by 2012.

Another of the A-segment minicars would be a Chrysler-badged version of the next-generation Fiat Panda, which shares a platform with the 500.

Alfa Romeo would return to the American market with the B-segment subcompact MiTo. There would also be a comparable car to be badged as a Chrysler or Dodge. This would be derived from the next-generation Fiat Punto.

Moving up to the Compact, or C-segment, a Chrysler plant would build a new vehicle based on Fiat’s new C-Evo platform. This new vehicle could be a replacement for the Dodge Caliber. The same plant could build the next-generation Alfa Romeo 147 for North American sale. A stretched version of the C-Evo platform could also be used as a replacement for the D-segment, mid-sized Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger and could be the first use of the stretched platform.

The Fiat platforms and engines would give Chrysler a real competitive entry into the A and B segments, two in which it does not currently play. It also provides some competition for Ford, which is in the process of federalizing some of its European cars and trucks for sale in the U.S. beginning in 2010. General Motors has not yet announced a strategy to bring more of its Opel line to the U.S. Some Saturn vehicles are based on or sourced from Opel. In Europe, Opel is a full-line manufacturer selling under the Opel and Vauxhall names.