Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU] CEO Sergio Marchionne has given his strongest indication yet that the successor to the Chrysler 300 might ride on a front-wheel-drive platform.
Speaking during a recent visit to FCA’s Windsor Assembly plant, where the 2017 Chrysler Pacifica entered production in late February, Marchionne said the platform of the handsome minivan and the plant it’s assembled at could both be utilized for the 300’s successor.
CHECK OUT: Report: FCA plans turbo 4-cylinder with almost 300 horsepower
“This plant and this architecture is capable of making the 300 successor, the front-wheel, all-wheel-drive successor,” Marchionne told reporters, including Reuters.
2017 Chrysler Pacifica
However, Marchionne, who was recently named CEO of Ferrari [NYSE:RACE], followed these comments by explaining that such a scenario was only a possibility and not a commitment.
The platform underpinning the Pacifica is an all-new design. Developing the vehicle, including upgrading the Windsor plant, cost FCA $2.6 billion, an investment the company has said in the past will need to be spread across more vehicles.
Currently, the new 300 isn't thought to be arriving until almost the end of the decade. FCA’s five-year plan for Chrysler announced in 2014 called for a debut of the new 300 in 2018, though we’ve heard it might not happen until the following year.
_______________________________________
