Fiat, Chrysler Now Totally Merged: The Ambitious Five-Year Plan

Calling the merger of Fiat and Chrysler “a completely new book,” company CEO Sergio Marchionne unveiled the company’s latest five-year plan—including a full-size luxury SUV for Jeep, a shift in philosophy for Dodge, and even a plug-in hybrid minivan for the Chrysler brand.

The company, now called Fiat Chrysler Automobile or FCA, plans to make each brand more specific in terms of what it manufactures.

The Chrysler brand will now be home to FCA’s family sedans such as the refreshed 300C and new 100C compact sedan, as well as FCA’s minivan line; the Dodge Caravan slides into history, as a new Chrysler Town and Country minivan will take its place with a plug-in hybrid option available. The new Chrysler 200 will be refreshed in 2017 as well as the launch of a new full-size crossover.

Dodge: The Power Brand

Dodge now becomes the performance-oriented brand, absorbing the SRT line and bringing the Viper back home. The Charger SRT and Viper get refreshed for 2015, with the new Dart and its SRT option scheduled for 2016 and a new Dodge Journey for 2017. In 2018, the new Charger and Challenger SRTs will debut, as well as a subcompact sedan and hatchback.

Ram’s 1500 and HD trucks get a refresher in 2015 and 2016, but brand-new versions of both trucks come out in 2017 and 2018. Business owners will also see a new Ram commercial heavy-duty truck in 2018.

Jeep: Only Sport Utility Vehicles From Now On

Jeep, the brand Marchionne sees as its global ambassador, launches its new compact SUV crossover in January 2015. Called the Renegade, it’s 16 inches shorter and two inches narrower than the Cherokee—but it will be available in 4WD with Selec-Terrain as well as a rear axle that can disconnect for better fuel economy.

2016 sees the retirement of the Jeep Compass and Patriot, but it also sees the refreshed Jeep Cherokee; 2017 brings an all-new Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee as well. In 2018 the Grand Wagoneer name will be resurrected as a three-row luxury SUV designed to compete with the Audi Q7, Infiniti QX60 and Lexus GX.

Marchionne wants to increase Jeep’s global sales to 1.9 million by 2018 from the 732,000 it sold in 2013; FCA is investing in six factories in Europe, China and Latin America as they look to increase sales there. Jeep will stick to selling only sport utility vehicles, he said.

Karl Brauer, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book, told the Los Angeles Times that “…today marks the beginning of a new direction for Chrysler that should prove fascinating to watch either way.”