Marchionne Says Ram And Jeep Are Strong Enough To Stand On Their Own

FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne believes that Jeep and Ram are strong

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by Brad Anderson

April 27, 2017 at 20:31

FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne believes that Jeep and Ram are strong enough to standalone from the conglomerate, just like Ferrari.

During a recent earnings call, Marchionne answered without hesitation that the two could stand as a single entity but didn’t insinuate any plans to spin off the automakers as FCA did with Ferrari and simply underlined their importance for the brand, Motor Trend reports.

Given that consumers are so in love with SUVs, pickups and crossovers these days, it’s no surprise that Marchionne thinks Jeep and Ram are strong. In fact, he said that they have been key contributors in helping FCA report earnings of $1.67 billion for the first quarter of 2017, the best quarter it has recorded since merging with Chrysler in 2009 during the automaker’s bankruptcy restructuring.

As such, FCA is focusing heavily on expanding and updating its fleet of Ram and Jeep models. We already know that a new Jeep Wrangler will be released later this year and a next-generation Ram 1500 will arrive before the end of 2018. After that, the range-topping Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer luxury SUVs will launch in a bid to capture some of the burgeoning market and steal sales away from Range Rover.