Chrysler to build Maserati SUV and Lancia Sedan

By Henny Hemmes
European Senior Editor
The Auto Channel

LOS ANGELES, November 20, 2010. According to Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat and Chrysler, the American car manufacturer will build a premium SUV for Fiat’s luxury division Maserati. The car has to enter markets worldwide in 2013. The new Jeep Grand Cherokee will be the base for the Maserati SUV, that will be produced at the Jefferson assembly plant in Detroit.

The new Grand Cherokee has been developed together with Daimler AG and was introduced last summer. Earlier, Marchionne already mentioned plans to use the new platform for one of the Fiat brands.

Chrysler will bring small cars on the North American market that have been developed by Fiat. The American version of the Fiat 500, that debuted in Los Angeles, is the first.

Marchionne also wants to reintroduce the Alfa Romeo brand on the US market.

Several Chrysler models will market outside the US as Lancia, another division of the Fiat Group. The first will be the Chrysler 200, the new midsize sedan that bowed in LA as well.