The auto industry's tidal flow toward electric vehicles is gaining speed, with most of the world's leading automakers and parts houses having announced sweeping new investment and product plans. But there is one name notable by its absence among the companies unveiling their electrification...

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne donned his iconoclast cloak again last week when he scoffed at the claimed climate-saving value of EVs and battery-powered transportation in general. The only reason Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is developing money-losing electric vehicles is because it's being forced to...