If this model is meant as a market-slowdown/recession fighting one, the 1.4 turbo MA may still work EVEN "knowing what consumer would be buying it", just given its cost competitiveness and the fact that it nearly ready to go, development- and product-planning-wise?
Won't they first be looking to offer say this Tipo/Neon's platitecture relatives: the Toro smaller/mid-size-ish pickup (a Ram 1000?) and the purported Toro-based c/d-cuv, both similarly inexpensive, in the usa, though, to replace the entry-level offering that was the Dart and that is the Journey? Sheer sales numbers wise that is, rather than full-ness of brand lineups as an end-in-itself. That is: assuming that there is a slowdown or worse underway or round-the-year's corner.
Only if they have the spare capacity in mexico or brazil/turkey, at a good, competitive-enough cost to ensure decent margins, else outsourcing such entry-level models almost entirely (even engineering though maybe not powertrains.... a la mazda-fiat 124) is the longer-term way to go mefeels for FCA n america: Chrysler brand mainly.
Tying up too much of fca's scarce capital and human resources on 'internal'-to-fca manufacture for destined to be ultra-thin-margin vehicles MAY just not make sense anymore for any Chrysler-badged model, 200-level or below, other than maybe a Journey replacing crossover/peoplemover? For the Chrysler brand the done-internally-within-FCA theme should instead exclusively be the Pacifica one, esp the phev theme, thinking a bit further-out?
GAC-Trumpchi, for example, has one or three models that'd do well-enough, possibly/probably? As does Suzuki India/China/Japan, and also Tata Motors India, just for eg. Spruced up a bit. Don't know about the economic cost/price calculus though all told.....let's see what they announce. By year end? In the recent analyst concall M did say they'd made progress on the 'outsourcing partner' issue.
