There is some tension in the Fiat group over the production of Fiat 500 EV electric minicars, it seems. While CEO Sergio Marchionne predicts that for every sale of a Fiat 500 EV, Chrysler would make a $10,000 loss. Despite that figure, the company is pushing ahead with the Chrysler-built Fiat electric car, to debut in the US in 2012.

Meanwhile, Fiat Chairman John Elkann has said that electric cars get unfair coverage in the media, when compared to the actual proportion of those vehicles on the market. It would seem that this kind of excessive focus is contributing to the pressure automakers feel to build electric vehicles, despite them being economically unviable.

It seems a kind of phantom competition has been constructed over electric cars, with manufacturers racing to compete and provide alternatives, without getting any real returns. On the 10,000-dollar loss of each Fiat 500 EV, Sergio Marchionne says:

Continue reading: Fiat 500 EV to produce $10,000 loss on every vehicle

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After seven years at the helm of Fiat, Luca di Montezemolo has decided to resign from his position as Fiat president, although he will remain as the president of Ferrari. The young John Elkann, grandson of Gianni Agnelli, will take over as Fiat president, while Montezemolo will also remain on the company’s board of directors.

The snap press conference took most by surprise, as the 2010-2014 company plan is expected to be announced tomorrow. The 34-year-old Elkann already has plenty of Fiat experience behind him, and marks a new year of the globalisation of the brand and the new Fiat-Chrysler deal. More details to emerge tomorrow.

Source | Autoblog.it

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