While Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sadly passed away in June, the joint Italian-American company will continue to honor Marchionne's vision, announcing that it will spend over $5.7 billion in Italy over the next three years. This massive spending will go towards new models and engines, as well as increasing the efficiency of its factories and boosting jobs and profit margins. This aligns closely with Marchionne's plans, which called for higher margin Alfa Romeos, Jeeps, and Maseratis, along with increased investment into hybrid and electric powertrains for its vehicles.

With this announcement comes news of several upcoming models. First off, Alfa Romeo will gain a plug-in hybrid compact SUV based on the Jeep Compass, which will be constructed at FCA's Pomigliano plant. The factory in Cassino will receive an updated version of the Giulia and Stelvio. The same plant will also produce a Maserati SUV related to the Alfa Stelvio, while Maserati's headquarters in Modena will churn out an as-yet-unknown new model, rumored to be the Alfieri sports car (which will feature an EV variant). The Ghibli, Quattroporte, and Levante, which are all produced in Turin, will soon be given facelifts and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

Additionally, Fiat will add a battery-powered 500 to its Mirafiori factory, and the lightly facelifted 500X will gain a plug-in hybrid variant. However, it is unclear whether either of these models will make it stateside. Fiat also announced that its original goal to end the sale of diesel cars in Europe by 2021 was "too aggressive" and that diesel vehicles will continue to be produced beyond that cutoff.

It is unknown how this policy will affect the diesels currently sold in the US market, such as those that proliferate the Jeep lineup. FCA has also proclaimed similar lofty goals for Alfa Romeo and Maserati several times over the past few years while failing to deliver, so don't bank too heavily on FCA following through on its current plans.